Reuniting
by bookworm4497
Summary: For three long years, no one has seen Robin. Little do they know, he's in Jump... under the name of Nightwing, leading the Teen Titans. What happens when he runs into the Team? Then the Justice League gets involved. Will they be able to settle old arguments or will Nightwing disappear again? Bad summery Please read all the bullets at the top of the first chapter, they're important
1. Chapter 1

Hey!

So, this is my first crossover. For those of you who have read my previous stories, thanks for taking the time to look at this one too. For those of you who haven't, thanks for giving me a chance.

This one requires several bulletpoints of background info, so here goes, in no particular order of importance:

* The fight between Bats and Rob happened like it's supposed to, I'm not messing with that. He still ran away to Jump and formed the Titans and blah,blah.

* However, when Robin left, he wanted to disappear completely, like _poof_. So, he ditched his secret ID and started shop in Jump as Nightwing, not Robin. I know, several years early, but whatever.

* The Titans know nothing about anything. If the question is, _do the Titans know about..._ the answer is no. They are completely in the dark.

* This is a Zatanna/Robin-or Nighwing- story. Not a Star/Rob story.

* There is a subplot which will emerge more in the sequel, which is already in the works. This is, primarily, a Dick reuniting with his family story, but there is an apprenticeship arc weaving through it.

*** This is _not_ Slade trying to kidnap NW for the second time; this is Slade trying to kidnap him for the _third_ time. Throughout the story, you'll find references to a second apprenticeship between Slade and NW. This is not an actual story. It has not been written, so don't go to my profile to look for it. At the moment, I have no intention of writing it. Half the fun is trying to figure out what the heck went on during that time, and trying to piece together Slade and NW's increasingly complicated relationship.

*The team fell apart after Robin left. They couldn't bear working together without their little brother.

* I'm not including Rocket in this. Don't know her well enough to, she was only in there for, like, two episodes.

Um... think that's it. Wow, lots of bullets.

On to the story!

* * *

It was a bright, sunny day in Jump City. The sun was shinning, birds were singing, children were playing, and Control Freak was acting like an idiot again. A normal day in good old Jump, home of the Teen Titans, consisting of five members: Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, and their leader, Nightwing,

Nightwing was something of a mystery. None of the other Titans knew anything substantial about him. All they knew was that he hadn't been Nightwing for very long before forming the Titans and that an argument had led to his relocation in Jump, They did not, however, know what the argument was about of who it was with or even where his hometown was. Nightwing stubbornly refused to tell them anything about his past.

Even Starfire was unsuccessful in getting any information out of the stubborn leader. They weren't dating- yet again, he had some mysterious reason from his past- but it was obvious that he had a soft spot for her. If Star couldn't get through to him, no one could.

The Titans had resigned themselves to the fact that they would never really know anything about their leader's past. They were (semi) ok with that.

That was all about to change. Of course, they didn't know that. It would ruin the surprise, not to mention the story.

In TTower, the team was scattered, each doing their own thing. The boys- minus Nightwing- were playing some sort of racing video game on the main screen. Raven drifted into the room and looked at them in slight disapproval- surely they could find something better to do- before resolving to get her errand done quickly.

"Do you know where 'Wing is?"

"No clue." Cyborg replied. BB just shrugged, not taking his eyes off the video game.

"Maybe Star knows." Raven murmured and flew off to find the alien princess. Unfortunately, she didn't know either. Raven frowned and decided to check Nightwing's room again. There, she found a note stuck to the door.

_Rae, _

_If you're reading this, I have left the Tower. I've got my comm if you need me or if there's an emergency, but please don't use contact me if possible. I don't want to be reminded of Nightwing business at the moment. Thanks!_

_ -NW_

Raven smiled slightly and turned to leave. It could wait. Wherever Nightwing was, she hoped he was relaxing. He had been way to stressed lately.

What she didn't know was that Nightwing was, at that moment, several miles below and the the left of her, in a secret underground gym. You could take the bird out of the Batcave, but you couldn't take the cave out of the bird.

Soon after forming the Titans, he had constructed the private gym because he knew he wouldn't be able to live there without a trapeze and other acrobatic equipment, but also knew it was a big hint to his identity. So, he created a place where he could safely forget about Nightwing and be Dick Grayson once more. He almost never wore his mask in his private sanctuary- the only place he didn't these days.

He smiled as he effortlessly completed a quadruple backwards summersault on the trapeze. He released a big sigh.

He was at peace.

It wouldn't last long.

* * *

Yay!

Yes, I gave 'Wing a batcave away from the batcave. I just love the idea of him having a private retreat.

Oh, and chapters will get progressively longer. This is rather short compared to some of the others.

Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, so here's chapter two. A few comments before you start reading:

I was really surprised that so many people already are following/favorited this. However, I only got one review, I think. Please review people! I'm always open to tweaking my plot a little to include other ideas, or even if someone wants to say great job or that was horrible or something.

Also, just to clear this up, in case it wasn't clear. If Slade gets NW again, it will be the third time he's forced into an apprenticeship. The second time is not a story, it just kind of happened. You have to piece it together yourselves.

* * *

The alarm went off just as Dick- because his mask was off, and he was doing something as effortless as breathing, and he was _happy, _so he couldn't be Nightwing- was doing a complicated maneuver between the parallel bars. He completed the move flawlessly and then swore.

Whoever had the nerve to interrupt his private time was in for a beating.

These days, working out here, in his private gym, was the only time he could feel normal. Like Dick Grayson, the kid behind the mask. The kid who had lost his parents and life as he knew it when he was nine and then lost himself again 7 years later, when he had once again left all he knew and loved and became Nigthwing.

These days, he didn't even feel like Robin, the Boy Wonder, who laughed and cracked jokes and came up with bad puns, surrounded by family and friends. Now he was Nightwing, grim and bitter, never without a hollow feeling that was the only testimony to how much he missed what he had left behind.

So why didn't he reach out to them? Mend old bonds, finish old arguments _*cough Bruce cough cough*, _rekindle old friendships?

Suddenly, his thought turned to a certain black hairs magician.

Zatanna.

The reason why he had refrained from becoming too attached to Star. He felt like it would be betraying Zee if he got too close to her. Zatanna had been the only one who knew about his plan to disappear, although she didn't know where he had gone or who he had become. He had done one thing though, one thing to make sure he wouldn't completely lose his old life.

He gave her a communicator, specially made by him. It's twin never left his side. It had a permanent spot in his belt. No one knew about them other than the two lovers who owned one.

They did talk through them, often. About what was happening back home, what he was doing, old issues, reminiscing- everything. She was helping him work through his issues with Bruce, as he had long since told her his ID. He knew she was hoping that if he could get through them, he would return home to her. Sometimes, he hoped so too.

He was shaken out of his reverie when he entered the main room and saw what was going on in the city. He swore again, this time in Romani, as he did when he was particularly upset or annoyed. He quickly shut his mouth, hoping the others hadn't heard. As far as they knew, he only could speak english. Luckily, they hadn't noticed, too absorbed in what was going on.

"Titans, go!" He ordered.

They rushed out of the room to the warehouse that was currently swarming with Sladebots.

Slade was back, but that was no surprise to Nightwing. He had already known that.

He also knew what Slade was after.

Him.

Slade was once more after his perfect apprentice.

* * *

And FIN! Yeah, it's kind of short. Oh well.

Look for the next chapter tomorrow!

Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three!

I have some things to clear up first.

Slade does not know about NW's past as Robin. And, just so you know later, Batman does not know that Slade is Deathstroke.

Deathstroke came before Slade. Slade does not operate as Deathstroke any more. He's just Slade.

Hope that helped.

* * *

As the Titans raced to the warehouse, Nightwing flashed back to the night when Slade had informed him of his intentions.

_It was a quiet night, and Nightwing had just finished talking to Zatanna. He had gotten a bit upset over something she said but managed to hold it in until he hung up. Then he calmly got up, left the Tower, and went to look for someone to beat up. _

_He had any number of victims available. For some reason, minor Jump criminals seemed to think that fighting during the night was smart. 'Wing might have been fighting in the sun these days, but he had been working with Batman for much longer. Night was his element. You would think that the name would tip some of them off._

_He finished with his rounds and was resting on top of the tallest building in Jump, perched on the very edge of the building, looking out at his city. Another Bat-habit. He had been happy, or as close to happy he could be these days. _

_Then, Slade stepped out of the shadows. _

_He informed him about his plan to make Nightwing his apprentice once more, and when Nightwing asked why Slade was warning him instead of turning him in circles to disguise his true intentions, Slade smirked behind his mask. Nightwing knew he was smirking anyway. _

_"I though I would see how you would respond if you knew what was going on. Think of it as a training exercise, for both you and me. What will you do differently, now that you know what's really going on? Besides, it's much more interesting this way."_

_Then he vanished, swallowed up once again by the shadows. _

Almost at the warehouse, Nightwing took a moment to fume. Slade was saying that his life was nothing more than a training exercise, a way to test his limits. He wondered if this warehouse thing had anything to do with it.

At the same time, he had a deeper understanding of why Slade had acted as he had on that rooftop. The second apprenticeship had helped him understand more.

Finally, the Titans arrived at the warehouse. Immediately, they were attacked, but Nightwing noticed something strange. The robots only seemed to be trying to hold them back, not really defeat them. And his whole team was around him, within eyesight. The robots hadn't even tried to separate them. As they fought towards the warehouse, he saw that they weren't even trying that hard to hold them back. Sounds of a fight came from within the warehouse, but none of the Titans were inside.

What was going on?

Finally, the Titans fought their way through to the warehouse. At this point they were still mostly unharmed, although BB had sustained a hard blow to the arm and there had been a small cracking sound, and most of the others were covered in scrapes and bruises. Strangely, all the robots had gone easy on Nightwing. He didn't have a scratch on him.

OK, maybe it wasn't so strange, given the circumstances.

In any case, they managed to make their way into the main warehouse area. What they found there stopped Nightwing cold. He just stood there for a moment, mouth agape, before managing to hide his shock. A numb feeling spread through him.

It was his team.

Why was that so shocking?

Let me rephrase. It was his _original_ team.

Young Justice.

* * *

Dun dun duuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh

Then again, you all knew it was coming. So never mind.

Review!


	4. Chapter 4

OK, once more before I let you go on to the chapter, I have things to say!

1) This is the first time the Titans are facing Slade since the second apprenticeship thing, so

2) The Titans haven't seen Slade and NW interact based on whatever happened during it

I think that's about all you need to know.

Oh, and just and FYI for those of you who read my other stories, the sequel to Circus Again should be going up later today.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

After almost 3 years, Nightwing's past came crashing down on him.

Literally.

A robot threw Kid Flash their way and the speedster landed on him. _Just like old times._ NIghtwing smirked to himself. Of course, KF didn't know that…

He quickly pushed the unconscious speedster off of him and looked around. What he saw chilled him to the core.

Most of YJ was unconscious, with Artemis being the only one fighting. She was standing on a pile of crate raining arrows down on the robots surrounding her. Her quiver was almost empty, and the robots just kept coming. It was painfully obvious that she wouldn't last long.

She spotted the Titans and sagged with relief. "Thank god." She muttered. "Help me!"

Nightwing nodded. The Titans tensed, ready to fight, but stopped when they noticed what Nightwing was doing.

He turned and walked towards the middle of the warehouse. He crossed his arms across his chest. "We all know you don't care about them Slade." He called, seemingly to no one. "Call off the robots and come out here yourself. No doubt you want to talk or gloat or whatever."

The Titans exchanged glances; this wasn't how Nightwing normally acted around Slade. For one thing, there was no angry destruction of everything around him. Nightwing seemed almost…calm.

To everyone's shock (except Nightwing), the robots froze almost as soon as Nightwing stopped talking. All except one that is. That one walked towards Nightwing and removed it's mask. A computer screen flickered to life.

"As much as I would like to do that, I'm afraid I'm not actually at the warehouse." Slade smirked down at him from the screen. "And you're quite correct, I don't care about them. This is about you." Nightwig stood silent, obviously waiting for Slade to continue. His team gathered around him, completely confused. No angry exclamation, no snarky comeback? What was going on?

"I've been thinking." Slade continued. "You've obviously been a part of the so-called superhero community for a long time, longer than any of the others on your team." "Why do you think that?" Nightwing challenged. To the Titan's surprise, Slade gave a legitimate answer. "You're skilled, very skilled. You've had a lot of training. The last time you were my…guest… I noticed that you had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of almost every hero, villain, and everything in between. So I thought that you might know some of the younger superheros not associated with the Titans."

"So you went for the biggest gathering of younger heroes." Nightwing inferred. "They had gathered for a reunion or something so you lured them here. Then, you made sure our cameras saw the Sladebots so we would come, so you could measure my reaction and work from there." "Exactly." Slade sounded mildly impressed that Nightwing figured it out so quickly.

Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "And?" Slade's eye narrowed. "I think I'll keep my observations to myself." He said evenly. They both knew that meant he had nothing. Nightwing was glad he hid his shock. "Another time then." Slade's face disappeared from the screen and the remaining robots lined up and marched out of the warehouse. NIghtwing fiddled with something in his belt before sighing and turning towards Artemis. "Security cameras are off, we can talk freely. Are you alright?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Fine. Can you go away and let me take care of my team now?"

"We can help."

"No thanks. For all I know you're working with one eyed halloween pirate dude."

"Love that description. And I would never willingly work with him. Plus, we just saved your butt."

"How am I supposed to know that for sure?"

Nightwing looked at her for a long moment, then sighed. "Get traught or get dead Artemis. You trusted me in the ventilation that day, why stop now?"

The Titans looked at him like he was insane- what the heck did 'traught' mean?- but Artemis' eyes widened. "R-" He darted forward and pressed a hand over her mouth, silencing her. "Yes. And it's Nightwing now. Please call me that, no one else knows about the other name." She nodded, and when he released her, she threatened, "we're talking later." Then she punched him.

"Ow!"

"That was for disappearing like that. Do you know how worried we've all been?" She demanded. NIghtwing smiled sheepishly. "I have an idea." Artemis glared at him before looking around.

"Lets take care of the team."

* * *

Told you they would get longer.

Review! Or else you don't get to see Wally spazzing later! :D I love when Dick trolls Wally.


	5. Chapter 5

Aaaand here's chapter 4!

And, yet again, I have thing to clear up. Jeez.

1) Wally is NOT a part of the Titans

2) At the moment, Red Arrow is not in this story. IDK why. He's raising Lian or something.

3) The Speedy on Titans East is original Roy. He doesn't know about Nightwing. Actually, lets say that he was found after Robin left, so he never even met him as Robin.

4) This IS a NWxZatanna fic, if you can't tell.

5) Oh, and just cause I got a comment on this: I will not be breaking up the Titans. Unfortunately, YJ is done :'( They've all moved on.

OK, this is just a sort of general comment on YJ. How does the team get into the bioship if Miss. M isn't there? Or unconscious? I was trying to figure that out while I was writing this, so I just kind of made something up. I have no clue if that's what actually happens.

And one last thing: advertising. For those of you who read my other stories, the sequel to Circus Again is now up in the YJ section! It's titled Wayne Manor. I couldn't come up with a good title.

* * *

The odd group moved across the roofs, headed towards where Artemis said the bioship was hidden. Artemis led the way and the Titans hung back. Beast Boy had transformed into a large bear with the unconscious Aqualad, Superboy, and Kid Flash on his back. Cyborg carried Megan. Nightwing hovered in the middle, cradling Zatanna.

Occasionally, he glanced down at here face and got a thrill out of the fact that she was _here,_ in his arms, after so long. Of course, it was slightly ruined by the fact that she was unconscious after a fight orchestrated by his archenemy, but he had learned to count his blessings and be grateful for what he had. She would, hopefully, wake up soon anyway.

Soon, the group reached the place where the bioship was parked. After years of using the ship, it was easy for Nightwing to pick out the faint mirage that indicated that the bioship was, in fact, there but was in camouflage mode.

Unfortunatly, his team had never had any experience with the bioship- with the possible exception of Beast Boy- and so were not experienced enough to see what Nighwing and Artemis saw.

"Dude, there's nothing here." Cyborg complained. "Did we walk all this way for nothing?"

"No" Nightwing answered. "The ship's here, just in camouflage mode." Seeing that Artemis was about to collapse, he took matters into his own hands- metaphorically, as he was still carrying Zatanna. Raising his voice a little, he said, "reveal, B-02".

It was a failsafe **(*cringe*)** that M'gann had installed when she realized that the others may need access to the bioship when she was unconscious, otherwise occupied, or just not there. All they had to do was say the command and their designation, like Nightwing just did. The ship would recognize their voice and respond accordingly. Luckily, Megan hadn't changed it after he left, so the ship recognized him and whipped into existence.

"Whoa." Beast Boy breathed, having transformed back into a human. "How'd you do that?"

His question went unanswered as Nightwing had already moved through the door that suddenly appeared and disappeared into the ship. Artemis followed after, about to collapse. The Titans exchanged a few looks before entering the ship, where Nightwing relieved them of their passengers.

He directed them towards seats and gently placed the remaining members of the Team into seats. The Titans gasped and fidgeted a little when the seat belt fastened themselves, but Nightwing ignored them. Since Artemis had fainted almost as soon as she sat down, he concluded that he would be flying the ship and moved towards the pilot's seat. The Titans eyed him curiously as he settled down. He didn't even seem to notice the sat belt, which the Titans found hard to believe.

They found it even harder to believe that he meant to fly the ship himself. Of course, they didn't know that he's had training so that he could fly it...

"Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" Raven asked dubiously. "Of course." Nightwing answered confidently, and before anyone else could comment effortlessly lifted the ship up ad started flying it towards the Tower. After a few minutes, he looked around the cabin and sighed. Everyone kept sneaking glances at him, and it was obvious that they were confused.

"Ask. I know you want to. Might as well get it over with." He said, resigned to his fate.

"Do you know these people?" Star asked. "If yes, how do you know them? And why did you not inform us of your relationship with other heroes, who are not of the Titans?"

Nightwing smiled grimly. "Lets just say that Slade was more right than he knew. We've known each other for forever…. we're practically family. Heck, we used to call each other brothers and sister, except for those who were dating, of course. Our mentors introduced us. Don't ask who my mentor was please. And there's a _**lot**_ you don't know about me and my relationship to the hero community."

"Do you not trust us?" Star asked sadly, a little hurt. "Why will you not tell us?"

Nightwing winced."It's not like that." He avoided meeting any of their eyes. "I mean, yeah, at first it was because I didn't trust you, and I was trying to stay hidden and lay low. Then Slade got involved, and if he knew who I really was at that point it would have been… bad. Now, it's also that I don't want to be judged and I don't want to change how you guys think of me and how we work as a team. Trust me, this could have a big impact. And I'm still trying to avoid some people from my past. I promise you that I _will_ tell you guys everything eventually. I was hoping that it would be years from now- like, when the Titans broke up or something- but I'm afraid it will be sooner than later now that Young Justice is involved. Can you guys bear with me until then?"

The Titans exchanged some more looks. What secrets was their leader hiding? It had to be big if he was this serious about it.

Would they ever know who he really was?

The rest of the trip passed in silence.

* * *

And there you have it folks!

I told you the chapters would get longer :)

Review please!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5!

And... I actually don't think I have anything to clear up this time. Huh. That's nice.

Oh, and we're back to shorter chapters. Sorry. I thought it was longer, but I guess I wrote bigger in my notebook than the last chapter or something, because they took up pretty much the same number of pages... oh well. This is kind of just an in between chapter giving more insight on Nightwing anyway.

* * *

The still unconscious members of Young Justice were resting comfortably in the infirmary. Raven had suggested that those not seriously injured should be moved to separate guest bedrooms until they woke ump but Nightwing had insisted that they should all stay in the infirmary together.

"They were just attacked, and won't know what's going on. They'll panic when they wake up, except for Artemis. If they all wake up together, in an infirmary, and see the others around them, it'll help calm them down. Trust me."

The Titans were currently hanging out in the main room. Beast Boy and Cyborg were, as always, playing video games. Starfire was flying around the tower somewhere. Raven was reading and sneaking occasional glances at Nightwing, who was in the kitchen cooking for their guests. She could feel a lot of different emotions coming off of him through their bond. Worry, excitement, nervousness, elation, sadness, happiness… a million emotions a second.

Raven frowned; something was different about him. She thought for a moment, and her eyes widened. It was a _good_ change. The strange hollow feeling that Raven had once though was loneliness but later realized was so much more was gone. Well, almost gone. But he felt more… whole. Complete. Like a missing puzzle piece had suddenly been found.

She thought for a few more moments and then returned to her book. If the presence of these strangers made Nightwing happy, she wouldn't object to their presence at the Tower. She would help with anything they needed. After all, it was nice to feel Nightwing being so happy and non-brooding.

Suddenly, Nightwing cocked his head to the side just as Raven sensed something odd through their bond. It was like 6 other presences had appeared in his mind. Nightwing didn't seem to mind though. His smile widened and he started piling food onto several trays. He caught Raven's eye and waved her over. He picked up two of the trays and asked Raven, "can you levitate the other trays to the infirmary? They're awake." "How do you know?" Raven asked, frowning, "Residual mind link." He answered, tapping the side of his head. "Miss M used the link on us so much it practically became permanent. Unless we deliberately block each other out, we can always talk mentally through the link. None of them thought to block me out, so I can hear everything they're talking about. Of course, for all they know, I'm in a different country or dead or just out of range, so that's not surprising."

At Raven's questioning look, he added, "I asked Artemis not to say anything. I want to see their expressions." He grinned wickedly. Raven quirked an eyebrow- this was not the Nightwing she knew. Then again, she thought as she levitated the rest of the trays and followed after him, noting the new lightness in his step, maybe this new Nightwing was better than the old one.

* * *

Nightwing pushed open the door to the infirmary. He was unbelievably happy to see his old friends and more-than-friend. He couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face. "Food delivery!" He announced to the young heroes in the room. "Figured you might be hungry. This one's yours Artie-" "Don't call me Artie, shrimp." "-Not such a shrimp anymore, am I? I'm taller than you. Here's yours Megs. Raven, that one's Conner's, that's Kal's, the black one's Zatanna's, and the others are for Kid Bottomless Stomach over there. Everyone happy?"

The Team- minus Artemis- stared at him. "OK, who are you and how do you know our names? And where are we?"

"All excellent questions." Nightwing grinned. "Wanna play 20 questions to find out?"

* * *

And he's starting to act more like the mischevious 13 year old. Yay!

Review!

Oh, and I totally made up that thing about the mind link. I just figure there had to be some sort of side effect.


	7. Chapter 7

Next chapter!

Ok, for those of you who do not like Rob x Zatanna, this will probably be the only chapter with anything really romance-y. Just warning you.

Time for the team's reactions! Nightwing's having a blast and Raven's just kind of there. Wally is an idiot. :)

Oh, and I just realized, I've never done this:

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. I haven't owned anything for the duration of the story, I just forgot to do the disclaimer. Oh, I forgot it in _Wayne Manor_ too...

* * *

Young Justice stared at Nightwing. So did Raven, for that matter. Nightwing wasn't exactly acting like… Nightwing. As a matter of fact, he was acting more like Robin, which was completely unfamiliar to Raven. At the same time, his behavior triggered some sort of recognition from the team, although at that moment it was nothing more than a niggling feeling in the corner of their brains, telling them that something was familiar about this person, but they weren't sure what.

Kid Flash looked Nightwing up and down. "20 questions? Seriously?" Nightwing shrugged. "Fine, have it your way. I'm Nightwing, that's Raven. You're at Titans Tower in Jump City. The other Titans are downstairs. The guy who sent those robots after you was Slade. It didn't really have anything to do with you guys, you were just the most convenient choice. It wasn't the Light trying to get revenge on you or anything during your team reunion. Any questions?"

"How did you know we were at a team reunion?" Miss M piped up.

Of course, the _real_ reason was that Zatanna had invited him during one of their over-communicator chats. He didn't tell Miss Martian that though. Instead, he just smirked. Then, he turned towards Zatanna and tossed her something. She caught it and looked down.

It was an identical replica of the communicator that Robin had given her, that she had guarded with her life. The communicator that had been accidentally destroyed in the fight against the robots.

Zatanna had been silently grieving ever since she woke up. She had no idea how she was going to get in contact with Robin now, and had been afraid that he would think that she was abandoning her when she didn't answer. She looked up at Nightwing, wide-eyed. Why did he have one of these?

He smiled gently and held up his own communicator. "I knew that they might get destroyed." He said softly. "So I made some extras and installed a program in them that would alert me if they broke so I could send you a new one. Only two are functional at a time though, the ones that we are holding."

Zatanna took a step back and examined the person before her. He was tall and lean and fit and confident, almost nothing like the short, scrawny ninja she knew. But then he grinned at her, and it was Robin's shit-eating grin, and he was suddenly so _familiar_ and right in front of her after 3 years of only talking over a communicator that she felt tears coming to her eyes. She flung herself at him and he caught her, staggering back slightly, then wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She buried her head in his shoulder and her shoulders shook with silent sobs. "Don't cry." He murmured. "everything's alright." He pulled back a little and looked down at her tearstained face. "Everything's alright." Then her closed the distance between then and leaned down to kiss her.

The team fainted, anime-style, then jumped back up.

The couple finally broke the kiss in order to do other important things, like breathing. "What was that?!" Kid Flash shouted. Nightwing turned to grin at him. "I'm disappointed Wally. You really have no idea who I am?"

"NO!"

Nightwing rolled his eyes behind the mask. That familiar movement was all that Miss M needed, and she gasped as the puzzle pieces snapped together. Quickly, Nightwing contacted her through the link while blocking Wally.

_You can tell Kal and Conner if you want, but don't tell Wally. I want to see how long it takes him. Oh, and Artie already knows._

_Robin! _Miss M squealed mentally. _It's you! Really you!_

_Yup. Hang on._

Out loud, he said, "shame on you Wally. Everyone else's figured it out." Wally looked around; sure enough, everyone else on the team had knowing smirks on their faces. He whirled on Nightwing.

"Who ARE you!"

Nightwing shook his head in mock disappointment. "Anger won't help you." He calmly informed the irate speedster. "I'm truly shocked that you don't recognize your bro. Hurt, even. I don't think I'll cook for you again while you're here. I'll make you eat Star's cooking." In the background, Raven shuddered.

Wally's eyes widened. "R…Rob? Is that you?" Nightwing grinned and bowed mockingly. "At your service. Took you long enough, Kid Moron."

Yup. Definitly Robin.

With huge grins on their faces, the team swarmed forward for a group hug.

After 3 years, they were finally a family again.

Whole.

Unbreakable.

Happy.

* * *

Sappy? Yes. Deal with it.

Wally is an idiot. It's worth repeating.

Review!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8, coming up!

And once again, I don't think I really have anything to say, which is kind of nice. I hate long ANs. But if there is anything you want to ask me, feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review.

DISCLAIMER: lfhv; ;.aebhou;aeruh;aublufbhkuaygefkuyhjsbfl,GIURFA

Yeah, don't want to do a decent disclaimer today. Sorry!

* * *

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire were starting to get a little concerned. Raven and Nightwing had disappeared a while ago to bring the mysterious heroes some food and to tend to any wounds. There had been some sort of combotion and they had heard raised voices- well, voice. Now, it had gone eerily quiet. They were starting to think that something had gone wrong.

"Do you… do you think we should go check on them?" Beast Boy asked uncertainly.

Cyborg glanced over towards the door and opened his mouth to respond. Before he could, however, the door opened and Nightwing, Raven, and the other heroes came in. Raven quickly crossed the room to stand with the Titans, while the unfamiliar heroes hovered by the door. Nightwing moved forward until he was in between the groups. He had a small flashback of a similar arrangement on the rooftops before clearing his throat.

"To start, introductions. Young Justice, Meet the Teen Titans. Titans, this is Aqualad, or Kaldur, the leader of Young Justice; Kid Flash, or Wally; Superboy, or Conner; Artemis, who's name really is Artemis, but don't call her Artie unless you're me or Wally, and possibly not even then; Miss Martian, or M'gann, or Megan, or Miss M, or whatever; and Zatanna." He turned towards the Titans. "Young Justice, this is Cyborg, my second in command; Beast Boy; Starfire; and you already know Raven. Which reminds me. Go hug your 'sister', BB, before she attacks you herself."

Beast Boy grinned widely, showing off even more canine than usual, and bounded forward to hug her. "Hey sis? What's up?"

Cyborg leaned over slightly to whisper to Nightwing. "Since when does he have a sister?" Nightwing shook his head. "They're not really related. She saved his life through a blood transfusion, so they think of each other as 'blood sibling.' It's kind of complicated, and what led to his powers." They turned back to the brother-sister reunion.

"Gar!" M'gann exclaimed, hugging him back. "I was so worried! After I heard about you mother, and then how you left the Doom Patrol…"

"Don't worry." He reassured her. "Nightwing found me and took me in and we made the Titans. It's awesome!" Megan's eyes filled with tears and she flew forward to hug him. "Thank you." She whispered. "I did promise to try to look after him, didn't I?" Nightwing said gently.

Beast Boy looked back and forth between the two and a startled look of recognition grew on his face. "Dude, Nightwing are you… were you…" Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Spit it out BB." "Rob?" Beast Boy blurted out. Nightwing smiled. "I knew you'd figure it out. You're the only one who had actually met me before, after all."

Cyborg was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Nightwing closed his eyes and exhaled. "You never asked who I was before Nightwing. I think you assumed that I was just an ordinary civilian, that Nightwing is my first hero persona. It isn't. It's my second. I was outgrowing my old one and then had to leave it behind when I moved here.

"So who were you before?"

"Robin."

Cyborg almost fainted.

"Like, the Boy Wonder Robin?"

"Do you know any other superheroes named Robin? I was the first one, by the way, not the second."

This time, Cyborg actually did faint.

Once he woke up he said, "Let me get this straight. You, Nightwing, used to be the Boy Wonder, half of the Dynamic Duo, protégée to the goddamn Batman, master hacker, one of the youngest heroes ever, if not the youngest-" "Can we not do all the titles? It gets boring." "-Fine. Anyway, you and Bats get into a huge fight, you move out here, give a special communicator to your apparent girlfriend so you could keep up with everything, and formed the Titans."

"Way over simplified, but pretty much."

Cyborg shook his head. "Unreal."

Nightwing suddenly looked serious. "But this doesn't leave the Tower guys. Heck, you shouldn't really discuss it within the tower. I've had a program running since we brought YJ here that disrupts any spyware, but it doesn't last forever and the more I have it going the more likely someone will figure out a way around it. You know that a certain one-eyed psycho likes spying on us through the cameras."

Cyborg's eyes widened. "Slade. Oh man, if he knew…" "It would be bad." Nightwing finished. "Very bad." Young Justice looked like they were about to ask, but Nightwing shot them a look and they kept quiet.

They all moved to the couches to talk. The two teams started bonding over trading stories about Nightwing/Robin. Said hero often acted as mediator and source of ridicule, but he didn't seem to mind. If it helped his two teams get along, he wouldn't object.

To the Titans, he seemed like a different person. He joked and laughed and threw pillows at Kid Flash. With a shock, they realized that he seemed happier after 10 minutes of conversation with them than he ever was with them. They couldn't help but feel a little jealous… and worried.

Finally, the conversation moved to more serious matters.

"What are you going to do when the League comes? We all know they will, so there's no use denying it. Our comms were destroyed in the fight so the League will come running to make sure we're ok. And they'll find you, Nightwing."

Silence.

* * *

Ooooh, ominous statement followed by silence. We know those are never good.

Until next time!

Review!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9!

Wow, a lot of you wanted to kill me because of that cliffhanger. Sorry. I would promise never to do that to you guys again, but... well... there's actually a really big cliffhanger at the end of this chapter, so... please don't kill me.

This chapter is more about Nightwing than anything. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Get it?

* * *

Everyone turned towards Artemis. She crossed her arms and glared. "You know it's true. Even if we leave now, they'll come and investigate. And we're _not_ leaving, not when we're all together again. We could borrow one of your comms, Nightwing - which I know you have, so don't try denying it- but that brings up the question of why the Titans, who have gone out of their way to avoid any association with the League, have special League communicators. Any way we play it, they come here and confront you. Your charade won't last long, face to face. So, _what are we going to do?_

Nightwing looked steadily at her. "Nothing. We let them come, and wing it from there." He looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes. "I knew when I brought you into the Tower that I was practically inviting the League in. _And I brought you anyway._ I'm tired of hiding, and to be honest, I miss everyone. It's been 3 years. It's time for something to change. If it doesn't work out, then so be it."

He stood up and left the room, tossing a "call me when they get here" over his shoulder.

Raven was the one who broke the silence. Turning towards the rest of the room, she said quietly, "He meant everything he said. What he _didn't _say is that he already has plans in place to help his disappear again, and he _will_ use them if he deems it necessary. We can't let that happen.

Everyone nodded grimly. They wouldn't fail him, their leader, their brother, their friend. No matter what, they would be there for him.

Always.

Nightwing immediately headed to where he always did when he was upset, emotional, or just needed to think.

His secret sanctuary.

Working out there, among the familiar equipment, doing the familiar motions and exercises, feeling the familiar burn in his muscles, always helped him relax. In this case, as well as relaxing, he was looking for the mental clarity that came along with it. Most of his major breakthroughs on cases came while he was down here, which had helped the Titans come to the conclusion that he was always in the evidence room. He hadn't done anything to discourage the idea, which also might have helped.

At that moment, he was on the trapeze. He had been drawn to it as soon as he entered the room, despite his intentions to do something simpler, like the rings. Then again, by this point, woking on the trapeze was as effortless as breathing and took about as much thought.

Maybe it was best that he used it now. The trapeze had been a constant in his life, had been present in all three of his homes. It helped him bring everything together.

Dick Grayson the circus kid, Richard Grayson-Wayne, Robin, and Nightwing all combined on the trapeze. It helped him think clearly, see the problem on all sides. As he practiced, he would think of a thousand different solutions to a single problem, discarding them one after another, coming up with even more, repeating the process over and over again until he had a plan.

In a tiny corner of his mind that he almost refused to acknowledge he wondered if Slade used a similar process to come up with his elaborate schemes to take down the Titans/ make Nightwing his apprentice.

Right now, though, he was focussed on what would happen when the League came. Momentarily, he considered the possibility of Batman not coming with the League, which would make everything easier. Almost immediately, he discarded that idea. Young Justice had been just as much Batman's team as anyone's, maybe more so, and he did care for their wellbeing no matter what his gruff exterior said. There was no way that he wouldn't come, so there was no point considering a plan that didn't involve him.

For almost an hour, Nightwing flipped and swung and flew and thought. He tried to figure out what he would do. Finally, he landed and nodded to himself.

It had been so long, and something needed to change. So, if they asked, he would tell them everything. If they didn't, he probably would anyway. He had plans ready to set in motion if needed, and he would use them in he had to. Hopefully, he wouldn't.

With the problem now resolved, he walked into the small changing room off the side of the gym. Quickly, he changed back into his uniform, putting to worn workout clothes on a pile for laundry, and replaced his mask. He walked back into the gym just as Raven's voice drifted through his communicator.

"They're here."

* * *

Please don't kill me cause of the cliffhanger! *dodges rotten fruit and vegetables* I'm sorry!

League next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Time for the League!

No real Batman yet, unfortunately. Next time.

I love when I have so little to say up here. It makes me happy. Less typing.

DISCLAIMER: Blah, blah, blahdedy blah blah.

* * *

The Titans and Young Justice were milling awkwardly around the main room. Without Nightwing acting as a go-between, it was harder for them to bond, or even talk.

Beast Boy and Cyborg had started up a video game, a racing one. KF and Artemis joined them. There were some obvious alliances- Cyborg and Beast Boy never attacked eat other but often aimed at the YJ people, and KF and Artemis banded together to take the others out. Megan,

Conner, and Kaldur were talking quietly on one of the couches.

Raven and Zatanna, the only ones who really seemed to be getting along, were engrossed in conversation. They were, of course, talking about Nightwing. Raven wanted to learn more about when he was Robin, and maybe figure out what some of what she had seen in his head during the dust incident was, and Zatanna wanted to make sure that he had been alright for the past 3 years.

Starfire had disappeared, presumably to take care of her garden or pet Silkie.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Starfire flew in, hair streaming behind her. She pulled up sharply in the middle of the room. "There is a ship approaching!" She announced. "I believe it is the League of Justice that you were speaking of." "Justice League, Star." Cyborg corrected, moving to shut down the game. He pulled up the security footage of of the ship heading their way. "Definitly League." He nodded. "Somebody get 'Wing up here. It's showtime y'all!"

"They're here." Raven said into the communicator. "Where are you? I couldn't find you in your room or the evidence room, or anywhere else for that matter." A faint laugh came over the communicator. "I was in my sect sanctuary. Don't worry, I'll meet you in the main room in a few minutes." Raven heard what sounded suspiciously like an elevator before the connection whas cut. She quirked an eyebrow but chose not to ask. Nightwing would tell them when he was ready, and not before. No amount of questions would change that.

She turned and flew towards the roof where the others and the League were waiting.

"…that's Beast Boy, and I'm Cyborg." Raven heard Cyborg finish as she pushed open the door. They all turned to see her. She nodded towards the League. "I'm Raven. Nightwing should be up here in a moment or two, he's just finishing something up."

Superman started, and then frowned. "Nightwing?" He murmured. Wonder Woman also seemed affected by the name. Raven shot them a curious look but refrained from questioning in order to examine the visitors.

It seemed like most of the founding seven had come. Batman, Wonderwoman, Superman, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Black Canary… Beast Boy and Cyborg were going fangirl, although for BB it seemed to be selective. He was bugging out over Wonder Woman, but pretty much ignored Green Arrow. Most of the Leaguers seemed surprised to see Beast Boy there, although with Batman it was hard to tell.

The Leaguers were talking quietly to their protégées while Batman and Wonder Woman stood whispering to themselves on the side. Superman sent frequent glances their way and grimaced. He was obviously listening in, and whatever they were talking about seemed like a sensitive subject.

At the moment, the League was trying to convince the Team to go back now, and the Team was struggling to come up with a good reason not to. Batman watched them with narrowed eyes, obviously suspecting something.

Finally, the door to the Tower opened, and Nightwing walked out. He gave a polite smile to the League and said quietly, "I apologize for not being up here to greet you, but I was in the middle of something important. Your visit was a little unexpected, after all."

One of the League members was staring at him, and Raven's hopes plummeted. It was obvious that Nightwing had been recognized.

"Hera, you've grown." Wonder Woman whispered, reaching up to touch his face. "Robin…" Nightwing's smile faltered for a moment and then grew into a genuine one.

The Leaguers that hadn't recognized him on sight's eyes widened.

"Guess I should have chosen a better name, huh Auntie Diana? I forgot that I had shown you some of the rough sketches. Should have known that I couldn't fool you." Wonder Woman's eyes filled with tears and she hugged him, hard. "Yes, you should have. Why didn't you tell us? We've all missed you so much.

The rest of the League stood frozen, staring at their lost bird, mouths agape. Even Batman was showing some emotion.

Nightwing hugged WW back. "The whole point of this was so I could find my own way as a hero, be independent. You know about the arguements, I'm sure you've pieced everything together. Wonder Woman nodded, still holding him close.

After a few moment, Nightwing gently extricated himself from her embrace. He turned towards the rest of the League.

"Close your mouths. You look like a bunch of trouts."

* * *

Hee hee. I can totally see him saying that.

Ok, so in this, I'm having Diana be practically Robin's mom, so it makes sense that she would recognize him and that he would confide in her a little before she left. I didn't want to draw it out.

Review!


	11. Chapter 11

I'm back!

The next week or so is going to be a bit hectic, so I'm going to do my best to give you guys a daily dose of this story, but I'm not making any guarantees. Ugh, I hate the last week before school.

We're back to shorter chapters. Oh well. I knew it wasn't going to last. Hopefully it'll get longer next time.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

* * *

Both teams watched from the side as every member of the League who came, minus WonderWoman and Batman, glomped Nightwing simultaneously. Their view of him was almost completely obscured by the adults, but he reemerged soon, laughing. For a while, the roof was full of chatter as each Leaguer greeted Nightwing and they talked about, well, anything. Finally, a lull came in the noise, and Nightwing found himself face to face with Batman. His father.

Silence.

Then…

"...Hi Dad."

Batman just looked at him for a second. Nightwing could just barely make out that there were tears under his cowl. Then Batman moved forward and desperately embraced his son in a huge hug. Batman's cape fell from his shoulders to wrap Nightwing in a sort of double embrace.

Father and son stood like that, arms wrapped around each other, Nightwing resting his head on Batman's chest- he was _still _shorter than him, damn it- and Batman resting his cheek on his hair. In those few moments, they said everything that needed to be said. Every apology and explanation and forgiveness. When they stood back, there was a new understanding between them. No more fights would be necessary.

Nightwing glanced towards the shore and an odd expression crossed over his face for a microsecond. "Maybe we should head inside." He suggested. "I'll give you the tour."

The Titans started at how much happier he sounded. He seemed freer, with a new sparkle in his eyes and a lightness to his voice. He had really, _really _missed his family. They nodded and led everyone towards the main room.

Batman hesitated at the door when he saw that Nightwing hadn't moved. He watched as Nightwing took out a tiny tablet from his utility belt and brought up the live security footage from the shore. He zoomed in on a specific person on the shore. Batman frowned. He looked like a normal tourist, looking at the Tower through a telescope. An old man with nothing better to do but play golf.

He only had one eye.

Keeping an eye on the footage, Nightwing deliberately lifted his hand and gave the man the finger. On the tablet, Batman could see the man smirk and give a mocking two fingered salute. Then he packed up his telescope and walked out of view.

Nightwing turned and walked into the Tower without a word. Barman followed after.

Nightwing showed them around the tower, pointing out the rooms and explaining about the layout and other features of the tower. The other Titans chimed in every so often to add something that Nightwing may have missed. They started from the top, the main room, and worked their way down through the bedrooms to the training rooms.

When they got to the training room, Nightwing showed them the equipment they had and explained that they also had an outdoor obstacle course to train with, although it frequently got destroyed. Batman looked around the gym and asked,

"This is the only gym?"

Cyborg nodded. Batman looked at NIghtwing.

"Where is it?"

"Whre is what? Nightwing smirked, using an innocent _I don't know what you're talking about_ voice. He knew exactly what Batman was talking about.

Batman glared good-naturedly at him. "Your secret gym. Where is it?"

The Titans looked at him, surprised. "He doesn't have…" Beast Boy trailed off as Nightwing held up a hand to silence him.

"The entrance is in the basement." He said, shocking the Titans. He smiled ruefully. "Guess it's not so secret anymore. MIght as well show you now."

He led the way to the basement and stopped at an unassuming wall panel. He placed his hand in the center of it, leaving behind a blue handprint when he removed it. Words appeared below it in a language that no one but Batman and Nightwing recognized, and Nightwing said something in what was presumably the same language.

"Security question." He explained.

"What language was that?" Raven asked curiously.

"Not one that you'd recognize. It's not actually a written language." Nightwing said as a door in the wall slid open, revealing an elevator. "Going down." He announced. Everyone piled in after him, not wanting to miss out. Surprisingly, everyone fit comfortably.

The doors slid shut and they were on their way

* * *

Sorry it's so short.

You guys better have figured out who the guy on the shore was. Honestly, I wasn't going to include that part, but I figured what the heck? I think it's sort of funny, so why not?

Review!


	12. Chapter 12

I'm back!

Sorry for the wait, but like I said in the previous chapter, this is a hectic week. I literally didn't even touch my compter yesterday. I'm doing my best. Please be patient. Once school starts, it'll be easier.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

* * *

The elevator moved downwards for a few moments and then shuddered and started moving sideways. Nightwing leaned against the wall. "The ride's about three and a half minutes, so if you have any questions…."

"Why do you have a secret gym?"

"And how did Batman know?"

"Why did you not tell us of your secret gym?"

"When do you have time to come down here?"

Nightwing sighed. "The gym has special equipment only for me. I didn't see the point of putting it in the main room if you guys weren't going to be able to use it. Also, it takes up a lot of room. I can't have some of it in plain view anyway because it hints at my ID. It's the only place in or around the Tower that I feel safe taking off my mask because I know it has no cameras or bugs. No one knows it exists; it's not even on the blueprints. It's my private paradise. A lot of the time, when you guys think I'm in the evidence room, I'm really down here."

"But how did Batman know?" Raven repeated.

"He didn't see a certain piece of acrobatic equipment in the gym." Nightwing answered. "He knows that I literally cannot survive without it - I'll start going through withdrawal if I can't use it, and I'll get the fidgets like you wouldn't believe- so when he realized that there wasn't one in the Tower, he knew I had to have another gym. And anyway, I practically grew up in a secret underground cave." Just then, the elevator stopped.

"Everybody out!" Nightwing announced as the doors slid open.

The group looked out at a huge room. There were many pieces of acrobatic equipment scattered haphazardly around the room. Rings, a balance beam, a tightrope- which was _not_ standard acrobatic equipment- a trapeze, and a whole mess of ropes and things that occupied one of the corners of the room. It was obvious that the room was well used; there was a water bottle and towel on one of the benches, posters and pictures hung up on the walls, and the equipment was well cared for but still bore evidence of use.

The Titans were speechless. Young Justice was smiling.

Batman looked around. If they hadn't known better, the others would have thought that he was smiling.

"It looks like your training room at home, although the tightrope is new." He said.

Nightwing shrugged. "Now all I need is Zitka, and I'll be set." He said in a joke that was only understood by a select few in the room. The others were just confused.

Batman's definitely-not-a-smile grew. "They're visiting Gotham soon, you know." He said casually.

Nightwing smirked, seeing right through him. "Of course I'll come visit with you for a little." He said, catching the hidden meaning. "I've missed Gotham."

Batman nodded. "I'll tell A." "No don't! I want to surprise him." Batman smirked.

Once that exchange was done, they noticed that the Titans were staring wide eyed at everything in the room. "Wow, 'Wing, I didn't even know you were an acrobat. Look at all this stuff! Can you actually use all this?" Cyborg asked. "I'm not an acrobat." Nightwing replied. "I'm an aerialist. And yes, I can use every single piece of equipment in this room."

"You've been holding back on us." Raven murmured. "You use hardly any acrobatic when you fight."

Nightwing shrugged sheepishly. "I was trying not to draw attention. Bats would have found me almost immediately if I had used my normal style."

The Titans then looked at the trapeze. "OK, most of this other equipment I can understand." Cyborg declared. "But a trapeze is _not_ standard acrobatic equipment. You can really use it?"

"Better than anything else. I've been using the trapeze for…. well, forever." Nightwing smiled sadly. "It's a long story."

"Wait a second." Beast Boy cried, something catching his eye. "Is that the case? From the race?" He paused for a second. "Hey, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!"

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's the case."

"What's in it?" Wonder Woman asked curiously.

"It used to hold some stuff from my first home." He said somewhat cryptically. "Now, though, it has something different. I changed it after the whole race thing- I'll explain about that later. Wanna see what's in it?"

Several enthusiastic yeses/ nods.

Nightwing reached over and opened the case, revealing its contents.

* * *

...which you'll find out next time. Hee hee. I love cliffies.

Review!


	13. Chapter 13

I'm back! I didn't die! I came close, but...

So, this chapter is not very eventful. It introduces something that will be very important for the future sequel, but doesn't have much importance for this story. And, just cause I love Dick-on-the-trapeze, that is included, spilling into next chapter too. Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and the next update for Wayne Manor is coming, for those of you who read it. I promise. Sometime in the near-ish future. I hope.

DISCLAIMER: blah. blah. blaaaaaah.

* * *

Now, instead of the relics from Nightwing's past that had formerly resided in the case, bundles of envelopes rested within. Some were loose and some were tied into bundles with different colored ribbon. Some of those piles only had two or three envelopes; others hd as many as a dozen. Wally noticed that although most of the piles had uniquely colored ribbons, two of the piles- the two largest piles- were both tied with black ribbon.

It was Superboy who broke the silence. "What are those?"

"Letters." Nightwing said in a 'duh' voice.

Superboy glared at him. "Ok, _why_ do you have a suitcase full of letters?"

Nightwing hesitated. "They're to people close to me." He said finally. "Whenever I felt like I needed to talk to one of you guys, I wrote a letter and vented. No one's going to read them." He said a little sharply, looking at Batman. "They're my private thoughts, and only in extreme cases, when you need to know everything about a certain subject, should you even _think_ of reading them."

He reached into the case and touched the two piles tied with black ribbon. "These are your, Dad."

Blue ribbon with, ironically enough, mini Superman symbols. "Superman"

Red and yellow striped. "KF."

Light green. "Artie."

Red. "Flash"

White ribbon with stars. "Wonder Woman."

… And so on, until everyone in the room had been told which letters were theirs. There were some unfamiliar name in there too - Alfred, Barbra, Commissioner Gordon- that only very few people there recognized.

Nightwing turned to face them. "I didn't forget about you guys while I was here, I just…. had to deal. I knew what I was giving up when I left, but I didn't realize quite how much I would miss you guys."

The League smiled lovingly at him. Wonder Woman spoke up. "Well, you won't have to miss us anymore. We'll visit, you'll visit- we'll keep in touch, but we won't make you leave your team."

Nightwing nodded happily. "Definitely."

At this point, Flash was nearly dying to ask something. Finally, he couldn't resist any longer. "Umm…. kid…" He stopped and corrected himself. "Actually, you're not much of a kid anymore, are you?" Anyway, would you mind… I mean… could you…"

Nightwing looked at him with one eyebrow cocked. "Spit it out, Flash."

"It's just that we've all missed your flying." Flash finished in a rush. "And we'd all love it if you put on a show. You know there's nothing like your flying."

Nightwing blinked slowly. A thoughtful look spread across his face.

"I haven't performed in front of anyone for 3 years." He said slowly. "To be honest, I've missed it." He smiled. "Sure, I'd love to." He disappeared into the changing room. "Be put in a minute!"

Flash turned and grinned at everyone."This'll be great!" He exclaimed.

Wonder Woman turned towards the Titans. "He said he hasn't performed in 3 years- the same amount of time he's been with you. I would be correct in assuming that you've never seen him fly?"

Starfire looked confused. "I did not know that friend Robin could fly. I thought he had no powers?"

Wonder Woman chuckled. "He can't actually fly." She explained. "It's just the closest word we could think of. You'll understand when you see him. You're in for a treat."

Just then, Nightwing reappeared, dressed in tight black yoga pants and a light blue sleeveless workout shirt. Those who had seen Nightwing without his mask realized that it was the same color as his eyes. He was wrapping some bandages around his wrists and hands to give them support as he flew.

The Titans stared.

They had never seen their leader wearing anything other than his Nightwing uniform. Heck, they didn't think that he had any other clothes. Nightwing noticed the stares and shrugged. "I don't wear my uniform _all _the time." The Titans just nodded dumbly.

Nightwing walked over to the trapeze and began to do some stretches underneath. "It's very important to stretch before you try to do any sort of acrobatics…." He began.

Wally picked up, grinning. "…you need to get your body ready…."

Artemis continued, "…so you don't stretch or twist anything or…."

This time, it was Miss Martian's turn. "… or worst of all, mess up a landing or catch…."

"And, god forbid, ruin the whole performance!" Superboy finished the sentence.

Zatanna added, "Also, if you do mess up, you risk injury to yourself and everyone around you."

Then they all chorused together, "So stretch, for god's sake!"

They all burst out laughing. Nightwing rolled his eyes.

He turned towards the Titans to explain. Based on the looks they were giving everyone and their snickers, the League needed no explanation.

"I used to teach these idiots-" nodding towards YJ, who just grinned at him good naturedly, "- how to use the trapeze and some other acrobatic equipment. They thought they could skip stretching because they were superheroes. Needless to say, it didn't turn out very well. After that, I gave them that speech every time before they did anything. They memorized it, and it became something of a private joke."

He turned towards the trapeze. "Ladies and gentleman, please take your seats. The show is about to start, and you don't want to miss any of it.

* * *

Trapeze time!

Remember the letters for the sequel.

Review!


	14. Chapter 14

I'm back! Finally! Sorry about the really long wait, crazy week. Everything's settling down now though.

To make up for it, I give you an extra long chapter! Yay!

Hopefully I'll update Wayne Manor today too.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

* * *

Nightwing was standing on the narrow trapeze platform, looking down at the others. He was so close to the edge that his toes peeked of the side. The platform was pretty high up. Raven looked up at him, a little worried; if he fell, it would not be good. She leaned over and whispered to Kid Flash, "Is that safe, being so close to the edge? What if he falls? He doesn't have his grappling hook, and there's no net."

Wally just shook his head and smiled. "He was born in the air." He said softly. "Likes being up high more that on the ground. Being perched up high like that is more natural to him than standing steadily on a flat surface. Prefers it. There's only one or two places in the world where he can let go, be truly happy, and up in the air on the trapeze s one of them." He smiled turned wistful. "He was always up in the air, we had a hard time persuading him to come down from the rafters for meals or training." He shook his head, remembering the original question. "He'll be fine. I know everyone would be happier if he had a net or something, but the last time we suggested it he got insulted and refused to perform. Said that having a net ruined the feeling. He was trained without one, see."

Raven nodded, an image suddenly surfacing in her mind. "We mind-melded once." She said slowly. "It's a long story, but I had to go into his mind. I saw something, when that happened, and I didn't want to ask Nightwing about it."

Wally nodded, understanding what she meant immediately. "You saw that night, didn't you? Two people falling from a trapeze, circus uniforms, no net?"

Raven blinked, surprised that he knew exactly what she was asking about without her even mentioning the scene. "Yes. What-"

She paused when she saw the look on his face.

"That's personal, you should ask him. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you everything, but yes, that's part of his history with the trapeze, why he doesn't perform so much anymore. I'm not telling you anything else. Don't bother asking the others, either, they don't know anything. It had to do with his ID, and they don't know it, so they don't know about that."

"But you do?"

"Yes, I do. He told me years ago."

Raven thought over what she had just learned. "To be honest, I forgot he had a secret ID, a life outside of the Titans." She murmured. "He never mentions it."

Kid Flash shrugged. "There's a lot of pain in his past. It's not surprising he didn't want to talk about it. He's been through more than anyone should."

Their conversation was interrupted by Nightwing. "If you ladies are done gossiping down there, I'd like to begin." The League and YJ went silent immediately. The Titans were excited and curious; what would they be seeing, that could produce that kind of reaction, to quiet a room full of chatter in a second?

Nightwing smiled, leaned forward- and leaped.

If asked to describe it later, Raven would have been hard pressed to find words that could adequately describe it. Nightwing moved with an infinite amount of grace, never missing a catch or mucking up a trick. It was obvious that this- flying on the trapeze- was as natural to him as breathing, maybe even more so. Watching him, Raven thought that it was a shame that he couldn't really fly.

Then again, maybe he could. This certainly seemed like flying to her.

Curious, Raven felt along their mental bond. What she found shocked her. Indescribably happiness, a lightheartedness that she had never felt coming from Nightwing before, a sense of _belonging, _a feeling of _this is where I'm supposed to be, right here, this is who I really am and who I want to be, everything is right with the world. _She had never felt anything like it.

Nightwing ended his routine, and suddenly his mind came alive with voices.

_Great job!_

_Amazing!_

_Nice going, man!_

_You have to teach me to do that!_

_Please, like you could ever manage that, Artie._

_We really, really missed your flying, Robin, and we really missed you too!_

All the other voices chimed in to agree with that.

Raven found it slightly disconcerting. She could tell that each voice was different, but she couldn't figure out who's voice was who's. The voices were also slightly muted, like they talking in another room. It was odd, too, hearing Nightwing's usually quiet mind alive with chatter. She supposed that she'd have to get used to it.

Suddenly, the others seemed to notice her presence in the link.

_Who's that?_

_That's Raven_. Now, that was Nightwing; his was the only clear voice. _We have this sort of mental bond- not like the link- it's a long story. I wondered if she could use it to piggyback on the link. Hey, Rae!_

_Don't call me Rae_. She thought crossly. Nightwing had no trouble hearing her, but it seemed like the team had as much trouble hearing her as she did with hearing them. Megan decided to just make it easier on everyone and properly add her to the link. Raven blinked as the voices suddenly became clear.

_What just happened?_ She asked wildly.

_I added you to the link, so we could hear better._ Miss Martian reassured her.

The conversation reached an abrupt end when Nightwing finally made his way back down to the ground and everyone swarmed to congratulate him. Nightwing grinned; he had heard it all before.

After the performance, the group returned to the main Tower. The Team, the Titans, and the League gathered in the main room while Nightwing disappeared into the kitchen to see if they had anything that could serve as dinner for them all. He came back out, informed them that there was nothing, and left in civilian guise to buy some food.

Almost as soon as he left, Wonder Woman turned towards the Titans.

"Thank you."

The Titans exchanged confused looks. "What for?" Cyborg asked.

"For looking after Ro-Nightwing."

Beast Boy snickered. "Us? Look after him? Yeah, right. Without him, we'd all be dead by now- actually, without him, there'd be no Titans. I'd probably still be on the streets after leaving the Doom Patrol, Cyborg would be fighting in some back alley somewhere, still thinking he was a monster, Star would've been recaptured by the Gordonians, and Raven-"

"Would have been used as a portal and ended the world." Raven said quietly. She ignored the looks. "Nightwing saved us, takes care of _us, _not the other way around."

Wonder Woman smiled. "Think what you may, but he does need you. He isn't a solitary person, he needs people around him, friends. I think you may have helped him more than you know."

"Thank you, Woman of Wonder." Star said happily.

Wonder Woman blinked at her. "Just Wonder Woman, dear, not Woman of Wonder."

The conversation moved on, and soon Nightwing returned from the market and made a BBQ dinner for them all. To Beast Boy's delight, both Miss M and Aqualad tried some of his tofu, while the Titans still refused to touch it.

Everyone talked and laughed and exchanged stories. Nightwing and Batman talked quietly, catching up after so many years.

Conversation was dwindling when Nightwing stood up and announced,

"I'm going to be leaving Jump."

* * *

And yet another cliffie! You can imagine the reaction to that statement.

Yeah, I kinda cheated with the trapeze. Oh well. I already went through that in _Circus Again._ This was about the Titans *cough Raven cough* getting a deeper understanding of Nightwing, not the trapeze.

Review!


	15. Chapter 15

I'm back!

Sorry about the longer wait, but I think this is what it's going to be like for now on. AP classes are a lot of work, I don't have much time to type. Sorry!

Time for the reaction to Nightwing's statement.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing

* * *

Immediately after Nightwing's announcement, the Titans burst out in loud protest. Several things exploded, surrounded by dark energy. The others began making quieter comments.

Strangely, the League and the Team didn't seem too upset.

Nightwing rolled his eyes at the commotion, raised an eyebrow at Batman, and then let out a piercing whistle. Everyone shut up and looked at him.

"You didn't let me finish the sentence." He informed them. I was _going _ to say that I was leaving Jump _temporarily_- Dad invited me back to Gotham for a month or so."

Several of the Leaguers smiled when they heard Nightwing refer to Bats and 'Dad'. Their smiles grew wider when they heard that Nightwing was coming home, albeit for a short time. They kept quiet as Nigtwing finished.

"I'd like to go back for a while- say hi to everyone, spend some time in my civilian ID, patrol with Bats for old time's sake, get murdered by my almost-sister, help train my little brother as Robin- the usual."

The Titans gaped. Yet another bombshell dropped on their poor, unsuspecting heads. "Since when do you have a brother?" Cyborg demanded.

"I have two- I mean, had- I mean…. it's complicated. Timmy's the only one that's really left now. It's a sensitive subject, which is why I haven't brought it up. Speaking of which-" He turned towards Batman. "If you run into a guy named Red-X, do me a favor and contact me immediately? Don't beat him up."

Batman frowned. "Red-X?" He said slowly. "Any parallels to Red Hood?"

Nightwing grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Yeah, but he's just a thief here, and he's really just here to mess with me. We've reconciled though, and I don't want you messing it up. Again. He helps me sometimes, and in return I've helped keep you off his trail."

Batman nodded slowly, looking a little annoyed.

Nightwing turned back to the now completely perplexed Titans. "Aaaanyway, I'll be leaving in about a week and staying for roughly a month, if everything goes OK. Is that alright with you guys?"

"It's fine."

"Go for it."

"Make sure you keep in touch."

"You need a vacation." BB piped up. "You've been working too hard. And it would probably be better for you to leave Jump for a little while, what with the whole thing with Sl-"

He was cut off when a strip of black energy wrapped around his mouth. "Excuse me for a minute." Raven said politely. "I have to explain something to an idiot."

She dragged Beast Boy out the door by his ear. They could hear her beginning to scold him.

The Leaguers and the Team looked at Nightwing who put on his best, innocent _I don't know what you're talking about_ face, which they all knew really meant that he knew exactly what they were talking about but wasn't going to tell them anything, and was probably hiding something. However, they decided not to ask. They didn't want to do anything to jeapordize their renewing bond with Nightwing, but it was obvious something was going on that they didn't know about.

The Leaguers stayed for another hour or so, but then the late hour, family, or impending natural disasters called them away. Again they tried to convince the team to go home, but they refused. Instead, they decided to sleep over. Nightwing had been ecstatic to hear that- the Titans? Not so much. They were afraid that Nightwing was drifting away from them and that he would eventually leave them- permanently.

Nightwing apparently sensed this and pulled them aside.

"Look, I'm not leaving you guys. I know you're worried that I'm going to get caught up in my past and want to leave the Titans to join the League or something. But they're just that- my _past_. You guys are my present, and more than likely my future. _I'm not going to leave you guys._ So chill already."

With their fears put to rest, the Titans were able to relax and really get to know the other heroes. Over the course of the night, they found that they had more in common with the others than Nightwing and really bonded. They watched movies for half the night and threw popcorn at each other and commented on the plot.

At the end of the night, when everyone finally went to bed, Nightwing crashed in the main room with the Team rather than going to his room. Somehow, they ended up in what Black Canary had affectionately dubbed a 'snuggle pile'- when they got back so late and fell asleep before they could get to their rooms. They would fall asleep in the living room, pillowing their heads on someone else.

It was almost natural for them to end up in one of them that night. It felt almost like the old days, when they would crash after a mission. They truly were a family, which was why it wasn't awkward or even a little strange. In fact, it was comforting- when they were all close like that, they knew that all the others were safe and unhurt.

They hadn't fallen asleep in one of them since Robin had left. It felt right that they did now, now that they were reunited with their little brother after so many years.

Together, they slept through the night

* * *

One three everyone: one, two, three- AAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!

Isn't that the sweetest thing?

Review!


	16. Chapter 16

So, looong chapter. Personally, this is one of my favorites, caus it's so not something you guys would predict. I guarantee that you'll either be like, awesome, can't wait to see what the heck's going to happen now, or nooooo, you just totally butchered TT and I hate this plot twist, AAAHHHH!

It's a really big plot twist. :) Honestly, I don't know where I came up with it. It's not really a very normal idea.

Then again, I may be exaggerating a little. Guess I'll have to see by your reactions. Enjoy!

Oh! Almost forgot! First real appearance of Slade! I know he was kinda there before, but this is really his first chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own TT.

* * *

The next morning, after a 'breakfast explosion' courtesy of BB and Cyborg, the Team left. It took them almost an hour to get out of the tower and say all their goodbyes. They made Nightwing promise to keep in contact now, started making plans for when Nightwing 'came home' which annoyed the Titans a bit, and promising- or threatening, based on your perspective- to visit, often. Finally, after all that, they bundled onto the bioship and departed. Nightwing stood on the roof, waving as hard as he could until he was positive that no one could see him anymore, including Superboy. Then he lowered his hand and sighed a bit. He would miss them all- a lot- but there was plenty he had to do now, in preparation for his 'vacation'.

For the next few days, he worked hard to make sure that everything would be alright for his extended absence. He organized files, updated security- finally showing Cyborg just how tech-savvy he was, and making leaps and bounds towards making the Tower more secure- making sure there were other heroes on call in case the Titans needed some help, and so much more. The Titans didn't realize just how much he did until they were faced with the fact of having to deal with everything themselves. Nightwing would still take care of everything for Titans International, so they wouldn't have to worry about that, but still.

Packages and messages and calls flew between TTower, Mt. Justice, the Watchtower, and Wayne Manor. Nightwing's communicator was constantly going off with calls from friends, and he received about 20 care packages from various members of the League. The Titans were shocked to realize just how popular he was with the League. Nightwing just shrugged and said that most of them knew him since he was 9 years old running around in a yellow cape, of course they were close.

And so the week flew by, until it was the day before Nightwing was going to leave. Nearly everything had been taken care of, and the Titans had kicked him out so they could plan a party. That was fine with Nightwing. He had one more thing to take care of, and he would rather that the Titans were busy so they wouldn't notice what he was doing. He knew they wouldn't approve, wouldn't understand.

He made his way to the now-ruined warehouse- they really didn't have a good track record when it came to warehouses, did they?- where he had spent his second apprenticeship. Near the end of that time, as the Titans were getting closer to finding him, he and Slade had agreed that if, for whatever reason, one of them had to get in contact with the other, they would go there. Both had cameras constantly trained on that spot. Nightwing was certain that Slade had been alerted as soon as he set foot on the property. Sure enough, Slade appeared only a few minutes after Nightwing had taken a perch on the roof.

They regarded each other for a moment, and then, almost as an afterthought, Nightwing said, "I'm alone. You?" Slade nodded. They both seemed to relax slightly; they had agreed to always come alone, but it was worth checking. Slade moved to sit on the edge of the roof near Nightwing. They sat in silence for a little.

"How are you?" Slade asked quietly.

"Fine. Great, actually. You?"

"Fine, although a certain teen is giving me some headaches."

"Can't imagine who you're talking about."

Slade glanced at him. "Sure. Was it necessary to flip me off?"

Nightwing shrugged. "That was private. I _do_ have a private life, you know."

"I wasn't aware you knew the League."

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Despite our little bonding-sessions that second time, you really don't know anything about me."

More silence. Both were thinking about those times during the second apprenticeship when they had put aside their vast differences, tired of fighting for a little while, and actually had some decent conversations. Their relationship had changed over that time. They didn't really hate each other anymore; they had a deeper understanding. Slade had learned that Nightwing was a person in his own right, and Nightwing had grown to respect Slade in some ways. Not the killing parts, though.

That did not, however, mean that Nightwing wanted to be his apprentice again. But it was nice that they could talk without, you know, killing each other. Especially since that apprenticeship had lasted so much longer.

The conversation resumed.

Slade turned to Nightwing. "Why did you come here?" He asked curiously. "I assume it has something to do with the commotion at Titan's Tower over the past few days?"

Nightwing shrugged and smirked. "Something to do with it." He turned and looked him in the eyes- well, eye. "I need you to lay off the Titans for a while. A month."

"And why on earth would I do that?"

"I'm not going to be there anyway, there would be no real fun in it. And I would prefer to be able to enjoy my vacation without worrying about what you've done to them while I'm gone. Knowing you, you'll attack them even if I'm not there for attention. Like a kid throwing a temper tantrum."

Slade ignored the insult. He regarded the young man in front of him. "Under one condition."

"How did I know that was coming?" Nightwing muttered.

"I want to know where you are going and why."

"Stalker much?" Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Mostly Gotham, probably some time in Central, maybe Metropolis- I'm visiting some old friends and some family."

Slade was surprised. "Family? I thought you said you didn't have any."

"We weren't exactly speaking to each other. Plus, I'm an orphan, so technically…."

"Ah." Slade stood up. "If that's all, I believe I'll take my leave. I have some plans to rearrange."

Nightwing nodded. "Right. Um… thanks."

Slade stopped. "What for? It was a trade."

"Not for that. For putting me on the path to reuniting with my family- my father."

"Care to elaborate on just how I did that?"

"Not really, no."

Inspiration struck. "So you did know those heroes?"

The only answer he got was silence. Nightwing was already gone.

Within 5 minutes, the rooftop was again deserted. There was no evidence left to mark the meeting between the two sometimes-enemies.

* * *

Nightwing returned to the tower and soon the party was in full swing. Nightwing enjoyed it, with a weight off his shoulders and knowing it would be the last time he'd see the Titans for a while. By the time the Titans woke the next day, he was already gone, off to an early-morning flight to Gotham, where he would make his way to the manor and do his best to scare poor Alfred half to death.

On the plane, Dick Grayson smiled. He was going home.

* * *

Love it? Hate it? I know, it's kinda big, but...

Review! Me wanna know what you think!


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry for the really long wait, but I have no time to do anything. At all. Ugh.

Enter Babs and Alfred! And some Bats and Dick bonding. Yay!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing

* * *

Dick was waiting by the airplane terminal. Bruce had specifically told him _not _to get a taxi, he'd have someone come and pick him up. He hadn't said who, so now he was waiting and wondering.

Suddenly, he was all but tackled by someone. He tensed, readying for a fight, but relaxed when he caught a glimpse of red hair. _Of course._

"Hey, Babs. Long time no see. Did you miss me?" He laughed.

_"Miss you?_" Barbara yelled, sounding part outraged, part happy, part relieved, and part amused. "We didn't know where the heck you were for _three years_, or even if you were _alive, _and now you finally reappear and everything's just fine and dandy?" She took a breath. "Of course I missed you, idiot!" She hugged him, hard. Dick hugged her back.

Barbara released and stood back, looking him up and down. "Damn, Dickie, you grew. You're a lot taller."

"Is that all anyone can comment on?" Dick asked, amused. "I missed you too Babs."

They stared for a few moments, then Barbara sighed. "C'mon, hunk wonder." She teased. "I'm supposed to take you to the manor, but I have to call Bruce first. Something about Alfred?"

"Oh yeah, we're trying to surprise him. He doesn't know I'm coming." Dick informed her.

"Good luck with that." Babs said, with a bit of an evil smirk. "Make sure you get a video of his reaction. And for god's sake. don't give the man a heart attack." Dick shrugged. "I'll do my best."

Once in the car, they drove in silence for a few minutes before Barbara spoke up. "I'm going to kill Bruce." At Dick's questioning look, she elaborated. "He didn't tell me about you. He just told be to come to the airport terminal, and I'd know why when I got there." Dick smirked. "Guess that's as close to a prank as Bruce'll get."

They called Bruce, and then silence reigned again, before Barbara asked _just where the heck you've been for three years_, to which Dick replied, "Jump City." She smacked him and told him to explain. Smirking, he told her that he had taken up the mantle of Nightwing, which led to another smack and a demand about _why he hadn't told her_. This led to a conversation in which Dick told her about the Titans and life in Jump with Barbara frequently asking questions or smacking him. It lasted all the way to the manor, where Babs dropped him off. Bruce opened the door for him.

"He's in the kitchen." Bruce said quietly, winking at Dick. "Good luck… and welcome home."

Dick smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad."

He continued past him and snuck into the kitchen. The butler was just pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven; some things never changed.

"Would you care for a cookie, Master Richard?"

Dick froze. "How… how did you?"

Alfred gave him an odd look. "Master Richard, I raised both you and Master Bruce. I am quite capable enough to know when he is up to something. In addition, I am observant enough to notice when Master Bruce is assembling elaborate care packages, making plans to take most of this month off, and switching out the linens in your room. It was not difficult."

Dick laughed sheepishly. "I should've known. Bruce isn't very stealthy when he isn't being Batman. And I would be insane to turn down your cookies, especially since I haven't had them in forever, Alfie."

Alfred rolled his eyes at the nickname and passed him the cookies. Dick quickly polished them off. "Man, I missed your cookies." He said contentedly. "There's nothing like 'em in Jump."

Alfred nodded. "So you _are _Nightwing then." Dick stared at him. "How did you… you know what? Never mind." Alfred hid a smile. It was good to keep the masters guessing sometimes.

Bruce walked in and announce, "I put your stuff in your room, Dick. I hope that's alright."

"It's fine." Suddenly, he turned and punched Bruce. "That's for being about as subtle as a train wreck and giving Alfie enough clue to put everything together. No cookies for you."

Bruce smiled indulgently at the boy. "I suppose you'll be eating all of them then?"

Dick smiled innocently. "Well, we wouldn't want all of Alfred's hard work to go to waste, would we?" Bruce's mouth quirked up in a smile. "Of course not."

Alfred watched from the side with a smile. It was so nice to see father and son acting like, well, father and son again instead of enemies. He only hoped it would last, and it seemed like his hopes were about to be put tot the test. Bruce was about to go over some rules.

"Dick, about patrol…"

"I can't go out with you, I know. If Dick Grayson and Nightwing appear in the city at the same time, someone'll put the clues together and get the right answer. It's smarter if I stay back in the cave and help with things then. Plus, Nightwing has no association with the Bats anyway, and I sure as heck am not trying to squeeze into my old Robin's costume." He grinned.

Bruce blinked. He had been expecting some sort of argument. Dick apparently read his surprise in his expression. The young man shrugged.

"I've learned to look at the bigger picture more, look at things from every perspective instead of just mine. Think more strategically, realistically. More… rationally I guess."

Bruce starred at his surrogate son, surprised and impressed. Maybe going to Jump had been good for him. Then again, Bruce could tell how worn down he was, and there was a haunted expression in his blue eyes that he couldn't hide. Bruce knew that Dick had been through hardships while in Jump, and that he was hiding something from Bruce. Bruce would try not to pry though. If there was one thing Bruce had learned, it was to trust his son.

And he would

* * *

Yay! Bruce is learning! He's not a stubborn idiot! All the time...


	18. Chapter 18

Ok! Next chapter! I got it done pretty quickly :)

Just a point: Within this chapter I refer to two things that Dick may-or-may-not be doing while he's in Gotham. At the moment, neither of them are written out, but if you want I can do one or the other. Tell me which one you'd rather read. I'm only gonna do one, if any. Got it? Good. On to the chapter!

* * *

Dick lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, tracing the familiar cracks and imperfections with his eyes, noting the dent where he had thrown a tennis ball too hard when he was twelve. Alfred had freaked.

As he lay there, in the old familiar bed, he could feel the old happy memories creeping up on him and he could feel himself relaxing. He was just realizing that while he was here, he had almost no responsibilities to worry about. No, that wasn't true; he still had Titans International to deal with, but compared to his normal work load, that was nothing. He didn't have to worry about day-to-day things. He could act like a normal- well, sort of- college boy- even if he had finished college online several years earlier. The one thing that he wasn't looking forward to was the gala Bruce had felt obliged to plan in his honor, to 'keep up the playboy act'. It was supposedly to 'reintroduce him to the Gotham's elite as the prodigal son come home- well, temporarily.' Bruce's words, not his. He wasn't looking forward to wearing a monkey suit and making small talk with the Gotham elite _*cough cough self serving idiots cough*. _He could't even bring Zatanna.

His phone rang then, interrupting his musings. He rolled over to answer it without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey bro!" Wally's voice came through. "We wanted to have another team get-together thing while you were in town. Is Tuesday ok for you?"

"Um… sure. Don't think I'm doing anything then."

"Awesome!" Wally shouted, followed by a string of speed talk. Then he hung up. Dick blinked at the phone for a moment and then put it back down. OK then. He'd call Artemis later to get the details.

With a sigh, Dick sat up and pulled his bag- filled with Titans stuff- towards him. He and Bee were still planning Titans North and he couldn't avoid the real world any longer. It was time to stop brooding and get to work.

He reached over to his communicator and called Bee. After the normal pleasantries, they got down to business. Titans North wasn't going to build itself, after all.

Bruce drove home as fast as he could. He hadn't even wanted to go to work today, since it was Dick's first day back home, but he had had some important business meetings he couldn't miss. As soon as the meetings were over, however, he hurried straight to his car. He didn't want to miss a minute with Dick. Losing him for those three years had taught him how important Dick was to him, and he was determined to spend as much time with him as possible, getting to know him again.

Dick had changed while he was away. Besides the obvious hight difference, Dick was more confident and mature. He acted more like an adult rather than an over energetic kid. Not all of the changes were good changes though. Bruce could tell how tired he was, and how he was so much more serious now, to the point where sometimes it seemed he couldn't have fun or relax. He had been through hardships. Bruce only wished he could have helped his son through them.

When Bruce entered the house, he heard Dick's voice coming from the living room as well as an unfamiliar one. He walked into the living room and froze. Dick was sitting on the floor with papers and blueprints strewn all around him and a laptop resting on his lap. The second voice he heard was coming from a communicator lying next to him. The comm was only transmitting noise though, not picture, so Bruce couldn't tell who it was.

Dick nodded at something the other said, deep in thought. "OK, so Jinx, Jericho, Herald, Gnarrk, and Kole. The only problem with that group is that there's no techie, which is a must. Oh, and no one's really skilled with hand-to-hand fighting." He thought for another moment. "And do any of them know sign language for Jer?"

The other voice sighed. "Alright, so that won't work. Got any other ideas, O wise and powerful Leader?"

Dick rolled his eyes. "Funny. I've got a few," He spotted Bruce and continued, "but it'll have to wait. I'll send you he blueprints, take a look and give me some feedback.

"Roger that."

"Nightwing out."

Dick snapped the comm shut and rolled his eyes at Bruce. "Did I ever tell you how much fun organizing a team is? And figuring out how to build their base while not blowing your entire budget, _and _leaving over some for when it explodes? Because you know it will, at some point. It's practically a requirement for HQs."

"A new team?" Bruce questioned.

"Dick nodded. "We're setting up a Titans North, there's so many heroes who want to be official Titans, not just honorary. It's hard figuring out a good roster though. We were lucky with the original Titans and Titans East, but this one is proving more difficult."

Bruce nodded. "Never thought I'd see you doing administrative stuff. Who's on the other end?"

"Bumblebee, she's leader of Titans East."

"So, she's equal to you?"

"Not even close." Dick said cheerfully. "She's just leader of East, I'm leader of the originals, plus I'm leader of Titans International on top of that. Titans East, all the honoraries, out network of contacts- everyone. If you ask for the top dog, you get sent through to me, no matter where you ask."

Bruce was impressed. His son had grown into a mature, capable leader. He opened his mouth to say as much when Dick's comm went off. Dick rolled his eyes but Bruce could detect a hint of worry in them. He flipped open the comm.

"Nightwing here. What's up?"

Beast Boy's voice drifted into the room. "Dude, it's Slade. He's up to something, again.

* * *

Cliffie! Again!

Don't forget to tell me which option you'd prefer, gala or get together thing! Poll is up on my profile, I think, if I did it right. Or just review and tell me.

Review!


	19. Chapter 19

Enjoy this chapter!  
This is another good one, despite how it's short-ish. Some major insight into Dick's head near the end, and the beginnings of Slade's plan.

Happy reading!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own TT or YJ.

* * *

Bruce watched as a transformation came over Dick. He straightened, his eyes focussed, and the beginnings of a scowl formed on his face. "He said he wouldn't…" He muttered, so quietly that Bruce almost didn't hear him. He shook his head and regained his composure. "What did you hear?" He asked through the comm.

Beast Boy quickly replied. "He's leaving the city. Apparently, he accepted a contract on some wealthy bigwig in Gotham. Starting with a B or D or something."

Dick swore in Romani under his breath. "Thanks BB."

BB cut in before he could hang up.

"Does this have anything to do with the 'get Nigh-'"

"Bye Gar!" Dick cut him off and and hung up before BB could further comment.

Bruce fixed his gaze on Dick. "Who's Slade?"

"A Titan's villain. It's nothing."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Doesn't sound like nothing."

Dick let out a frustrated sigh. "Drop it Bruce, please. Just forget about it."

He scooped up all his papers and his computer. "I'm going to put this stuff away." He muttered, and left the room.

Bruce looked after him, worried. Obviously, about this Slade character bugged Dick. There was some sort of history between the two, and it probably wasn't good. Bruce made a mental note to research this Slade. If he was causing problems for his son, well, it wouldn't be pretty. DaddyBats hadn't been needed for years, and he was itching to make a reappearance.

Dick lay, once again, on his bed in his room. His mind was working furiously, trying to figure out what Slade was planning now. He hadn't taken a contract in years, although he'd had plenty of options. There had to be some ulterior motive, money, or power, or…

Dick's eyes widened.

Or, a way to get to Gotham, hopefully without alerting him. He wouldn't be on the look out for mercenary activity, and he doubted that he would have any idea about this if BB hadn't told him. After all, Slade had only promised to leave the Titans alone, not Dick himself. Slade's attention would be divided, what with the contract, but Dick was sure that he had some sort of plan. Dick would have to lay low as Nightwing, hopefully not attract any attention, and try to avoid Slade, That shouldn't be too difficult.

Although, to be perfectly honest, another apprenticeship probably wouldn't be so bad, he mused. That second time, after they had sorted everything out, he had actually enjoyed himself. And he learned a lot. He had honestly considered, if only for a few moments, staying with Slade, making his position there permanent, but he had stopped himself.

That was what was really terrifying him. Not the prospect of being alone with Slade, or cut off from everyone, or even being trained to kill- his real fear was that he'd give in. Become Slade's perfect apprentice, take over for him someday, forget why he had chosen to fight crime and not become it. Deep, deep down in his heart, he longed for the freedom he knew would come. He yearned for the trill that stealing had given him, the rush when he had evaded the best security systems and gotten away undetected.

He had denied it when Slade asked, of course. He wasn't ready to admit it to anyone.

The first apprenticeship had started to create these feelings, but they had been so weak and barely there they had been easy to crush.

The second had strengthened them and brought them to the light. Getting along with Slade and actually enjoying had cemented them and made them almost impossible to ignore, but he had done his best to shove them under the metaphorical carpet and forget. It hadn't worked as well as he would have liked, but he could deal.

The looming possible third was making those feelings impossible to ignore. Part of him was clamoring to keep fighting, not to give in to the feelings, but another part, growing more insistent and vocal by the day, told him that here was the perfect opportunity to stop resisting and embrace them. Let himself be captured by Slade and become the villain Slade was trying to mold him into.

Villains had been trying for years to get him to switch sides. Robin had long been hailed as one of the more dangerous heroes, despite his unlikely appearance. He knew everything- _everything- _about everything. None had ever come very close to succeeding.

But Dick knew that if he ended up alone in one of Slade's bases, without his friends to support him, it was very likely that he would fall.

Light to dark.

Hero to villain.

Vigilante to thief.

Trusted to hated.

Nightwing to Renegade.

* * *

O.O

Dick's goin' bad! No!

Nah, he's not bad... yet. He's just conflicted. He's toeing the line. Like Catwoman.


	20. Chapter 20

I'm so, so sorry for the wait, but I lost my notebook-of-writing, so I couldn't type up the next chapter. I have a set plot already, I didn't want to improvise, and this is an important-ish chapter. Enjoy!

Oh, as to the poll, the gala is currently winning. It's still open though. I probably won't be typing up that chapter until after the next one, so you've got some time.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Then again, this is so far from cannon...

* * *

Bruce- well, Batman- was in the Batcave doing- what else?- research. He stared at the screen in front of him and the blinking message it showed.

_No Information Found_

Which was impossible. He was the goddamn Batman working on the _Batcomputer_, with access to pretty much anything, and the ability to hack through whatever he didn't have access to. Virtually every source of data in existence, and there _was no information about this villain._ Although, it did make some degree of sense. He had kept his distance from anything related to the Titans before this, and so did not have anything available about their villains. But still, just because he didn't have anything on his normal databases didn't mean that there wasn't anything for the computer to pick up on.

Since this type of search hadn't yielded any results, he would have to resort to more old-fashioned means. Combing through newspapers, asking around, researching unusual activity in Jump- the works. It would have to wait, however, as he heard Dick's footsteps approaching. Batman turned to look at his son as he came down the steps.

They looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

"Sorry about earlier." Dick said finally. "Slade's a sensitive subject, and I'm currently under a lot of Slade-related stress. I just… don't want to discuss it at the moment, alright?"

Batman looked at him steadily for a moment. "Alright." He turned back to the computer. "I was about to go on patrol."

Dick nodded. "I think I might just go through some old files, do some organizing. You never were very good at keeping everything organized." Batman smirked and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Don't get into any trouble." Dick rolled his eyes. "I'm not nine, Bruce. Don't worry."

Batman nodded and soon the Batmobile was screeching out of the cave.

Once he was gone, Dick sat down at the computer. He hadn't exactly lied to Bruce- he was going to look through some old files. He just hadn't mentioned that he was looking for some files in particular. Ones on Deathstroke the Terminator. Late in the second apprenticeship, Dick had mentioned something about Gotham, and Slade had told him that he had operated out of Gotham for a while, under the name of Deathstroke. This had led to swapping stories about Gotham, but Dick had carefully avoided mention of Batman; Slade didn't know about his past as Robin, and Dick wasn't planning on letting him know.

Later, Dick had done some research, but hadn't found much in the ordinary databanks. Now, he decided to take advantage of the resources at his disposal- aka the Batcomputer. After all, if Deathstroke was a Gotham villain, he'd find something in the computer. A description at the very least. He wasn't expecting much when he typed the name in. A profile, a list of crimes, a single file.

Instead, he hit the mother load.

Pages upon pages of info, a detailed history, lists of crimes, haunts, notes- and a small paragraph explaining how, after the fiasco that had led to Grant's death and Joey's becoming mute, Deathstroke had vanished- dropped off the face of the earth, never to be heard of again.

Dick cocked an eyebrow at all of it; he hadn't expected Deathstroke to be a _major _villain.

He returned to the file with Deathie's history, and read through it slowly. Much of it he had already known- Slade had told him about his past as a gesture of… well, trust, although Dick hadn't returned the favor.

What really caught his attention was the description of Grant. He was very, very similar to Dick. In fact, if his eyes were covered, they would be nearly identical. Dick sat back, thinking. He had asked, once during that second time, why Slade had chosen him- the _real _reason. Slade had responded in the usual way (talent, determination, drive, etc.) but Dick had sensed that there was something more.

Was this it?

His musings were interrupted by Alfred. "Hey, Alfie." He said absentmindedly, still looking at the information on the screen. Alfred looked at what was up and raised an eyebrow. Dick shrugged. "I was looking through old files, and the sheer volume of this file caught my eye. I didn't recognize the name at first."

Alfred nodded slowly. "Yes, you were just starting out when he was active. If I recall correctly, you only met once, and very briefly, but he took and immediate interest in you. Because of that, Master Bruce kept you out of the way for the rest of the investigation. I believe he intrigued you as well- he was unlike the other villains you had met until that point."

Dick stared at him in shock. Slade had seen the potential in him even then, before Dick had started to question the black-and-white views he had been exposed to, before he started to have looser ideals and a wider mindset. What did that say about the future? About the inevitability of him giving in?

Once again, Alfred broke him out of his thoughts. "Anything else, Master Dick?" Dick gathered his thoughts and nodded. "When's Timmy getting home?" Tim had been on a class trip for the duration of Dick's stay so far, and he was eager to see his little brother again.

"Tomorrow, at about one o'clock. I was intending to pick him up, but perhaps he would appreciate it if you went instead." Dick nodded enthusiastically. "Consider me there. I can't wait to see his face!" Alfred hid a smile. "Make sure you are near a camera, please. I'm sure Master Bruce would enjoy seeing your reunion."

Dick grinned. "Sure. I'll be sure to show you the video too, since you obviously want to see it." Alfred graced him with a smile. "Indeed, Master Dick." Dick smirked back and returned to his research.

As Alfred walked away, he made a mental note to tell Bruce about the file that Dick was looking at. Bruce had told him about how a man named 'Slade' had been bothering Nightwing, and Deathstroke the Terminator's real name was Slade. In addition, Alfred hadn't liked how Dick had reacted to what he had told the young man. Alfred was too old and wise, had been through too much, to believe in coincidences, and in his expert opinion, this meant trouble.

* * *

Alfred's catching on!

Timmy next chapter!


	21. Chapter 21

I'm back! Sorry, I've been so busy lately, plus this is a long chapter.

First chapter that's not in Dick's POV! Like, at all! That's a change.

The poll will be up for another day or two, then I'm closing it and writing the chapter. At the moment, the gala's winning, 7 to 5 including review votes. Feel free to vote via reviews or vote on the actual poll on my profile.

Enjoy the chap!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own nothin'. I also don't know grammar, apparently.

* * *

Tim stared out the window as the streets of Gotham rolled past. He had been on a trip to DC with his school for the past week. They had gone to all the popular tourist attractions and historical sites- including superhero related ones. He had to hold back snickers and comments when they took the tour around the Hall of Justice. Diana had winked at him as she was passing through. After, he had to blink back tears when the tour guide explained about the missing Robin. There was a small exhibit dedicated to the Robins. Most of it was about the original, although there was some about Jason, the second Robin -although nothing was mentioned about his rebirth- and a tiny corner dedicated to himself. Despite the small size, Tim was honored that there was anything at all.

Now, he was almost back home. He would be relieved to get off the bus filled with screaming, immature kids and into Alfred's waiting car. He had missed the butler, and was looking forward to seeing him. The first thing that Tim would ask him, always, was if there was any news about Dick.

There never was.

Alfred would smile sadly and then ask him about his day. It had been routine for the past three years, and Tim had almost given up hope that it would change. He still asked though, every day. Maybe he hadn't lost all hope.

At long last, the bus groaned to a stop. Tim waited until everyone else had filed off the bus, not wanting to get caught in the inevitable bottleneck that would form at the door as everyone rushed to leave. As he stepped off the bus, he scanned the crowd of parents waiting, looking for Alfred.

No Alfred.

Huh. Weird. Alfred was always punctual. He scanned the crowd again, certain that he had just missed Alfred the first time. Maybe he was in the back, or hidden behind someone taller or something.

Instead of Alfred, however, his gaze lit on a young man, wearing sunglasses, leaning against a familiar car- one of Bruce's- and wearing an oddly familiar shit-eating grin. Tim blinked, looked again, blinked another time. The man waved at him, his smirk growing wider as Tim didn't move.

The man rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses- somehow, it was obvious that he had, even if his eyes were hidden- and then reached up and removed said sunglasses. Brilliant, crystal blue eyes sparked mischievously at Tim, full of amusement and laughter.

Dick's eyes.

Tim felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Yes, those were Dick's eyes- they were unmistakable- but Dick was missing, had been for three years. That couldn't be Dick. Tim knew that at that point, the chances of Dick returning, unharmed, was slim to none. All the facts pointed to the conclusion that _Dick was not coming back._ It wasn't, couldn't be Dick.

Could it?

Slowly, Tim walked towards the maybe-Dick. He stopped in front of him and eyed him warily. Maybe-Dick laughed. "I know that look. You're doubting me. I'm hurt, Timmy, I really am. Can't you recognize your own older brother?"

It looked like Dick. It sounded like Dick. But Tim wasn't convinced just yet.

Possibly-Dick sighed and glanced around. He leaned down to whisper, "I'm proud of you, Baby Bird. You've done Robin proud. Just don't die, ok?"

Tim's eyes widened. The only way that he would know about the nickname, about Robin, about _Jason _was if-

He finally let himself believe that it was Dick.

He lunged towards Definitely-Dick, clinging to him in a huge hug. He felt tears leaking out of his eyes. Dick's arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, and Tim felt like a kid again, being comforted by his older brother. He vaguely heard Dick mutter something about the amount of hugs he was getting lately before pulling back from the embrace. There was no doubt in Tim's mind now. He looked up at Dick, eyes streaming.

"What happened? Where were you?" Tim whispered. Dick smiled sadly. "You know about the arguments. I had to leave."

As they talked, they got into the car so they could talk without worrying about eavesdroppers. "As for where I've been…" Dick glanced at Tim, settling into the passenger's seat next to him. "Do you know about The Titans?"

Tim nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. I'm a huge fan of theirs- it's great how a bunch of kids banded together to kick bad guy butt, without the League or mentors. Plus, Bruce's been ranting about them, how he can't access much of their info, they should have some sort of supervision, blah, blah. Are you saying you're an honorary?"

"No, I'm saying I'm the leader. Don't you remember Uncle Clark's stories about Nightwing?" Dick's eyes sparkled as his face split in a smug, semi-evil smile.

_"WHAT?!"_

Dick smirked. "Yup. Who needs the League?"

"You.. you…" Tim was speechless. "Let me get this straight. You left Gotham and YJ, ditched Robin and became Nightwing- which I so should have realized-"

"Yes, yes you should have. I was disappointed you didn't."

"-and formed a new team, and then made the largest superhero organization ever? I mean, the Titans have more honoraries than the League has members. How could we not have realized it was you?"

"Honestly? I have no clue. I dropped enough hints."

Tim leaned back, amazed. "I can't believe your Nightwing."

"Well, I am. Want an autograph? I can sign your cape." Dick chuckled, enjoying teasing his little brother again.

Tim shook his head and laughed. It was nice to have Dick back. It had certainly been quieter without him.

* * *

AAAWWW! Timmy! In my mind, Tim's very logical, fact based, and wouldn't believe Dick unless he had sufficient evidence. And he like the Titans :)

REVIEW!


	22. Chapter 22

Ok, so the gala won. Here it is!

It's a very wordy chapter. Lots of long paragraphs. Oh well.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Ugh I hate these things.

* * *

"Bruuuuuce!" Dick whined. "Do I really need to wear a monkey suit?"

"Yes Dick." Bruce rolled his eyes. "You do. This is a fancy gala. A suit is necessary, so quit whining."

"I don't even have a suit." Dick grumbled. "I haven't worn a suit since I left. Heck, I haven't worn _civvies _since I left."

Bruce blinked in surprise- he hadn't been Dick Grayson _at all?_ "Well, regardless, you need to wear a suit. Alfred bought you one in preparation for this."

Dick grinned. Of course he did. Alfred was prepared for _everything_.

As Dick was protesting the need for a suit, the ballroom downstairs was being prepared for the party. As previously mentioned by Bruce, he was practically obligated to throw a party because of Dick's return. After all, he was the infamous playboy billionaire, and needed to keep up appearances. So, that night there was going to be a large gala which, apparently, meant Dick had to wear a suit. Terrific.

Apparently Bruce could interpret his feelings from his face. He chuckled slightly. "Oh, cheer up Dick. At least Barbara will be there. And Timmy. Roy might come with Ollie as well. It won't be so bad."

Dick muttered something about how _even seeing Roy wasn't worth this_ but put on the suit without further arguments, although he still looked annoyed. Bruce had to hold in a smirk at his son's discomfort. He knew exactly how Dick felt, but watching him squirm was amusing.

Tim burst into the room, dressed in his own suit. "Dad, can you help me tie my tie? It won't stay put." Bruce reached over to fix his tie as Dick snickered. "Jeez Tim, you would think that after so long…" Tim scowled at him. "Oh, shut up." Dick laughed. "You know, Jay could never get the ties right, either." Both Tim's and Bruce's expressions darkened. Dick rolled his eyes at them. "Oh, calm down. Jay isn't that bad." Tim raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know, exactly?" Dick grinned nervously. "Um.. he's kinda… in Jump?" Tim's eyes widened. "You mean he _knew?"_

"Well, yeah. That's why he's there. To bug me. Not that the Titans know how he's related to me…"

Tim blinked, several times, and then shook his head. "Ok. Sure. Our psychotic zombie brother had been hanging out with you, who has been missing for 3 years. That's really likely." Dick just shrugged. "Guess _he _caught my hints."

They continued bantering and teasing each other until the party began. Then, they descended the stairs to join the people arriving.

* * *

"Richard!" Dick was suddenly enveloped in the embrace of some lady elite. "Oh my, look at how much you've grown!" "Thank you." He said politely, quickly extricating himself from Mrs. What's-her-name's embrace. "It's quite nice to see you too. If you'll excuse me, I think Bruce wants to speak to me." He speed-walked away, to where his little brother was leaning against the wall, laughing at his pain. Dick glared at him slightly. "You know, you could try to hide you amusement just a little." "Nah." Tim giggled. "Too much effort."

Dick grumbled more under his breath and turned to survey the room. His gaze landed on a man on the other side of the room, and he stiffened. Curious, Tim followed his gaze. It looked like an ordinary man, getting along in the years with brown eyes and a military air. He was wearing a gray suit. Nothing remarkable.

"What's Wintergreen doing here?" Tim just barely heard Dick murmur. "Who's Wintergreen?" Tim inquired. Dick started and tore his gaze away from the man. "No one, TImmy. Don't worry about it." But there was a hint of worry in Dick's blue eyes. He turned back to the room and scanned the rest of the crowd, apparently looking for someone else with a tense expression. He relaxed slightly when he finished. Evidentially, he hadn't seen whatever he was looking for.

The two Bats sensed someone coming up behind them. "Hey, Roy." They said together. A muffled curse came from behind them. "Freaky Bat-kids." Roy muttered. He came up next to Dick and whapped him upside the head. "That was for disappearing like that." Roy informed him. "We've all been worried sick."

"Oh, come on!" Dick pouted. "Did none of you get the hints? Aren't you still hanging out with your 'little brother'?" Which was, of course, code for Speedy. Roy looked at him uncomprehendingly. "Well, yeah. What does that have to do with anything?" Dick groaned and hit his head against the wall. "He's a Titan. Hell, he's on Titans East. And he's _never _talked to you about Nightwing?" Roy stared at him. "You're…" He face palmed. "Of course you are. That's why you searched him out, right?"

"Duh." Dick rolled his eyes again. "Honestly, I'm surrounded by idiots who can't look past their own noses." He teased. Roy and Tim stared at him. "What?" Dick asked. "Dude, you sounded like Batman right there." Roy said. "Really?" Dick asked, not really seeming to care. That surprised Roy and Tim. "Before you left, saying that would have made you explode." Roy commented.

"Things have changed. _I've _changed." Dick looked away. "There are worse people to be like." He pushed himself off the wall. "Hey, there's Babs." He walked off to find his old friend. Roy looked appraisingly after him. "He is different." Tim nodded. "Yeah. And I'm not sure if it's completely a good thing." He suddenly remembered something.

"Roy, do you recognize the man over there?" Nodding to the man that Dick had been looking at. He had been joined by another man who, upon closer inspection, had a glass eye. Roy narrowed his eyes. "Nope. Why?" "Dick was looking at him before. It seemed like something was wrong." Roy shrugged. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Richard!"

Dick looked around and found Bruce in the crowd and made his way over to him. He was standing near two men and chatting while waving him over. Internally, Dick sighed. More people to socialize with that he didn't care about at all.

He realized how wrong that thought was when he saw just who Bruce was talking to. Great. Just _great_.

"Richard, this is Major Wintergreen and Mr. Wilson. Major Wintergreen, Mr. Wilson, this is my son, Richard."

"Nice to meet you." Dick muttered, avoiding ' 's' eye. Wintergreen smiled at him. "Hello Richard. We've heard a lot about you." Dick forced a smile on his face. "Only good things, I hope. Excuse me, I just saw a friend walk in. Maybe we can talk later." Dick hurried away, swearing in multiple languages in his head. Hopefully they hadn't noticed anything.

Bruce looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, he's just returned and hasn't seen many of his friends yet. You'll have to excuse him." "Of course." Mr. Wilson replied smoothly. "He must be excited to be home." Bruce smiled and left after a little more small talk. Once he was gone, Wilson narrowed his eyes. "There was something familiar about that boy." He mused. Wintergreen looked at him. "Well, he is a celebrity. Maybe you saw him on TV or something." Wilson wasn't entirely convinced, but he let it drop.

And the party continued.

* * *

And that's it! Back to the pre-planned storyline after this. There's actually only a few chapters left.

I wanted this chappy to have something to do with the storyline, so I put Slade and Wintergreen in. It doesn't have much significance, just confirms they're in Gotham.

Review!


	23. Chapter 23

Ok, I'm sorry to say that this is the penultimate chapter. That's right people, one more after this. It's so sad!

But then there's the sequel, so it's ok.

Slade's purpose in Gotham is revealed!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.

* * *

A week went past, flying by in a blur of familiar people and places and laughter and fun. Bruce quietly observed his son during this time, and so witnessed every bit of the change that came over him. The shadows under his eyes faded, the slightly haunted look in his eyes was replaced by his old life and laughter. Even his stance seemed lighter, like a burden had been taken from his shoulders. He grew more carefree, laughing more and with less reason.

He started using 'aster' again.

If only a week in Gotham had this much of an effect on him, what would a month do? Would he be happier here or in Jump? Would he be safer?

The time that Bruce didn't spend with Dick was devoted to either WayneTech, sleeping, or researching Slade. Slade was, in a nutshell, a mystery, There was literally nothing about him. All he could find was a rumor that he had been behind the extremely temporary takeover of Jump City a few years ago. Other than that, there seemed to be nothing concrete. Every time he seemed to have a lead, to be getting close, it disappeared or he was misdirected. This investigation was going nowhere.

Finally, he found what seemed to be a solid lead. He followed it and ended up with a large password-locked set of files. When he attempted to hack it, he found that the security was much more complicated than it appeared. It proved almost impossible to hack. When he looked closer, he found that it was Dick's handiwork, which raised another question. Bruce had no access to any sort of Titans files, so why had his computer found this?

His question was answered by Dick himself, who had managed to sneak up behind him, silent.

"I put that there yesterday. I knew you were researching Slade and I knew you wouldn't find anything. Trust me, I was looking for years. Those files are my personal ones, with notes and pictures and info and everything. If you ever need to have access to them, Raven will tell you the password."

"Not you?" Bruce frowned.

"I may be otherwise occupied." Dick answered evasively. He turned to leave. "Just… do me a favor and stop pressing, ok? If you need to know, you'll know."

"Dick…" Bruce trailed off. "If it's just that you don't want me interfering, I promise I won't-"

Dick cut him off. "Bruce, have you considered that I honestly don't want to talk about it? That it may be a sensitive subject?" He took a deep breath. "I'm trying to take a vacation from all of this stuff, but it's proving impossible. I didn't want to think about Slade while I was here, but with you prying and him up to something, it just keeps coming up. You know one of the reasons I wanted to come back here? So I could get away from all this. Worked out great, didn't it?" He turned and stormed out of the cave. "Quit snooping." He called over his shoulder.

Bruce stood and stared after his son. He had a feeling that he had just crossed a line, but he had no clue what it was. One thing he was certain of was that Dick was hiding something. This whole thing with Slade seemed to be a lot more personal than Dick's other rivalries. Bruce could tell that something strange was going on. He turned to look at the file and a chill ran down his back. This seemed an awful lot like a contingency plan to him. After all, he was the one who had bought Dick and he knew him very well,

Leaving the password with someone else indicated that Dick didn't think that he would be there to tell Bruce himself, which could only mean bad things.

Standing in the Batcave, Bruce promised himself that he would do everything to protect his son from this man. He would not let him get near his little bird. So resolved, he turned and left the cave to get ready for work.

Of course, what he didn't know was that Slade had no intention to kill Dick, or even really harm him. Actually, Dick wasn't in any real danger, you know, other than kidnapping.

No, Dick wasn't in any real danger.

But he himself was.

* * *

Dick stormed out of the Batcave and started up his bike. _Damn Bruce. _He thought. _Why can't he let sleeping dogs lie? Why did he have to start digging?_ As he drove. he tried to banish any though of Slade from his mind, although he was beginning to think it a lost cause. He really didn't want to think about him now. He had just been starting to relax, start feeling like himself again. Now he was back to Nightwing mode.

Maybe he would ask Zatanna to come over tonight. She always helped him relax and he could talk to her about anything. It would be nice to see her again as well. Their relationship was stronger than ever. Or maybe he would go hang out with Wally, or visit the Crocks. He wanted to enjoy the time he had left in his old life.

His drive was interrupted by his communicator (or course).

"He's on the move."

Oh. This was one of the guys he'd sent to spy on Slade once he'd figured out Slade's hideout.

"Thanks." He said into the comm. Where to?"

A pause.

"Uhh…" The man said. "Looks like Wayne Tower."

Dick stopped the bike so suddenly it almost flipped over.

_Some wealthy bigwig. In Gotham. Starts with a B or D._

Beast Boy's words floated through his mind.

_Wayne Tower_

A wealthy bigwig, in Gotham, who worked in Wayne Tower. Started with a D… or a B.

Bruce.

Dick swore and turned the bike around with a screech.

Bruce was in trouble. Big trouble.

* * *

Dun dun duuuuhhhhhh

Who saw that coming? No, seriously, did anyone see that coming?

Next chap is the last!

Review!


	24. Chapter 24

This is it you guys. I'm seriously tearing up as I write this. I've been working on this for so long, since June, I can't believe that it's done. It's so sad!

I have to plan the sequel now, which should be fun. I need ideas! I have absolutely no plot at this point, so if there's something you want to see, I'm going to be a lot more flexible than I was with this one.

Enjoy the final chapter guys!

DISCLAIMER: It's the last disclaimer! :'( *_sob, sob, waaaahhh* _I can't do this.

* * *

It had been a normal day at the office. Bruce had arrived, been greeted by his employees, borne some small chat, and then shut himself up in his office to do some paperwork and avoid human interaction. Everything was going fine, up until the point where a man in a halloween mask burst in and calmly informed Bruce that he was here to kill him. That put a dampener on him morning.

The man leveled his gun at him and Bruce furiously tried to come up with a way to get out of this with his secret identity intact, because he would die first. He had Dick and Tim to think of now. If this guy could manage to get into his office with a gun and not set off any alarms, he would surely be smart enough to connect the dots.

He heard the soft whine of a motorcycle from the open window.

The man fired before Bruce could think. Bruce managed to dive out of the way before the bullet pierced the air where his head had been. The assassin's eye narrowed. He fired again in a heartbeat, and this time Bruce just wasn't quick enough. He managed to move so the bullet hit his shoulder and not his heart, but he knew he would not be so lucky again. Surprisingly, however, the man lowered the gun. Bruce figured out the reason a moment later, when a burning pain began traveling down his arm.

"I don't normally resort to poisons." The man said casually, like he was commenting on the weather. "But you're notoriously hard to kill, Mr. Wayne. A hit like that- you'll be dead within 10 minutes. A particularly obscure blend of poisons, one of my own concoctions."

The man's monologuing was cut short by the sound of running footsteps. A moment later, the door burst open- again- and Dick burst into the room, wearing a pair of sunglasses. He froze when he saw the man, who was once again aiming his gun at a Wayne, producing a pair of escrima sticks from nowhere. He looked across at Bruce and swore at the sight of the shoulder wound, now leaking some sort of fluid- an effect of the poison no doubt. "How did I not see this sooner?" He muttered, then turned to the man. "Seriously? Poison? You hate poison."

The man's eye widened as he inspected the new arrival. "Nightwing?" He sounded surprised. "I thought you were visiting family, not heroing. Although this does make tracking you down easier." Bruce felt a cold clutch of fear at those words. Why was this man looking for his son?

"I was." Nightwing answered casually, not even flinching. "Unfortunately, hearing that you were in town ruined the vacation a bit. And I wasn't about to let you kill Mr. Wayne, was I? Even if I did hope to avoid you."

The man relaxed and lowered his gun. "I'm hurt." He purred. "But I was expecting the Bat."

"He's not the one keeping tabs on you, is he? You didn't set off any alarms here- if I hadn't been tipped off, I wouldn't have known." Nightwing shot back. Bruce couldn't help but feel a bit proud and grateful- Dick was still protecting him, even if he was dying, too weak to stand up. One thing confused him- why was his son keeping tabs on this mystery villain?

"You've been checking up on me? I'm flattered." The man smirked. Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap, Slade."

_Oh. _That explained things a bit. Bruce started. Wait, this was _Slade_? Why was a Titans villain in Gotham, trying (and succeeding) to kill him?

Dick's next question brought him back to the room. "What's it going to take for you not to kill Mr. Wayne?"

"What makes you think that I'd give up, especially when I'm minutes away from success?" Slade asked curiously.

Dick smirked. "I've done my research. Way back when you would change priorities if someone offered you something better. You wouldn't stand here talking for so long when you could make a clean getaway if you didn't want something from me. So, what?"

Slade eyed him. "I'm sure you can guess. You're quiet correct, if it had been Batman who had arrived, I would be gone already."

There was a long moment of silence. Nightwing and Slade locked eyes and seemed to be communicating silently. Bruce lay by his desk, clutching his shoulder, feeling the poison spreading and wondering _what the heck was going on here_.

Finally, Dick nodded. "Fine." He said quietly. "The antidote?" Slade produced a pill and tossed it to him. Nightwing caught it, face impassive, and moved forward to kneel by Bruce. Slade moved out of his way, watching his every move but not interfering.

Dick reached out a placed the pill in Bruce's mouth, watching to make sure he swallowed. "Call the Titans." He whispered in Romani so Slade couldn't hear. "They'll explain everything. Don't forget about the letters. And, I'm sorry." He swallowed, then stood up. Bruce watched in confusion. Sorry for what? What was going on?

Dick turned to face Slade. His escrima sticks had disappeared just as suddenly as he had produced them. He took a step forward and stood in front of Slade, undefended.

Slade raised the gun.

Bruce's eyes widened.

Dick didn't move.

A loud _crack _rang through the room as Slade hit Dick over the head with the butt of the gun. Nightwing dropped like a stone, but Slade caught him before he hit the ground, and the lifted him up, carrying him bridal style. Without a further glance in Bruce's direction, he stalked out of the room, still carrying Dick. Weak from the poison, Bruce was couldn't do anything to stop him. He managed to drag himself over to the window and saw Slade loading his son into a car, then getting in after him. The door shut and the car drove off as Bruce began to hear sirens.

A tear trickled down Bruce's cheek as he watched his son being kidnapped. _Oh Dick, _He thought, as police and paramedics began rushing into the room, _What is going on? What does he want with you? _

* * *

In Slade's newest hideout, Slade laid the unconscious hero on a bed made up with blue sheets, careful not to disturb the sunglasses shielding the young man's face. He put Nightwing's utility belt, minus the communicators, on a chair near the bed on top of a t-shirt and some pants. Then he left the room, turning out the lights as he went. The darkness crept forward and enveloped the figure on the bed, concealing him from view.

At long last, Slade had his apprentice back.

* * *

*Starts crying again*

Oh god, I can't believe I'm being so sappy about this...

The sequel will go up eventually. Probably not for a while, but, eventually. I'll probably post something on this story to let you all know.

REVIEW! It's the last chapter, c'mon people!


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